Start of Days
by onthecoast6
Summary: 113 years living in seclusion; Helen breaks her own rules and takes the steps needed to save Ashley. The after effects from Helen's plan takes Ashley on an emotional journey back to her mother as she struggles to find forgiveness in herself. Complete but currently revising chapters. Oh, and Tesla is in this story too... :)
1. Chapter 1

_Nobody said it was easy,_

_It's such a shame for us to part,_

_Nobody said it was easy,_

_No one ever said it would be this hard,_

_Oh, take me back to the start._

_~Cold Play, The Scientist_

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><p>The following scene occurs during the last scene of Eulogy.<p>

Chapter 1

Air gathered in abiding silence high above the church's lonely century year old benches. It moved like a weighted sadness for a few moments, then dropped almost apologetically down to where Helen stood isolated inside her Sanctuary stone walls. She felt the soft touch blanket her face tingling the skin with it's icy presence, perhaps a cold hand saying her last goodbyes that Helen could not answer to.

Crumbling layers of stonework surrounded her, it's small cracks a cry to its age and all that it has seen. Each bricked stone block encompassed her like a strangled breath. Her raw soul felt sickly, all wrapped up in a confused fog that was this moment.

The air continued to crawl about her face, a soft breeze that could have been a familiar hand. Every second now it chiseled away what was once her tough exterior that she fought to uphold, for so long. But now it was achingly numb to all but her lasting memory of her daughter.

Staring mindlessly at the casket Helen Magnus wished this was not her life.

It was well into the night and the only light emitting was from a single white candle Helen had lit and placed to the stone floor.

No one should have to bury their child. No one. It is not nature's way. It is wrong.

It is what rips one's heart out to bleed on the floor. Forever.

Soft breezes began to whistle calmly between small minute crevices of stone, high above from broken window panes lining the chapel walls. The oak wooden benches sat alone, quiet. Like shadows of friends and family members that wanted to comfort away the pain, but not with words because nothing one could say could ease the pain, but with an embrace.

_Why does life allow for good people to die?  
><em>

Helen's sobs echoed through the open precipice. She placed a tear drenched hand on top of Ashley's coffer. Helen's mind was overcome with images of her daughter, of her youth, her once carefree laughter and wonder for life. Her smiles and grief from their years together. Each memory bled in and out of her mind, order less and sporadic without control.

She stood alone in a world that needed such honest and compassionate people. The world is better for it. The world is better with it.

"Ashley," the name barely broke a whisper. Her tears slipped across her flushed cheeks spilling down her neck, her voice a helpless plea and shaking cry, "I should, have never let, you go. This is, my fault."

But no response came_._

It is when you lose someone you love, one often speaks aloud as to force a truth that one's words are carried to the lost—to the dead. To the one you will never stop loving. Forever.

Helen could barely stand. Her heart so heavy it seemed to pull her towards the ground. So she let her body slowly fall, and gave in to the dark sorrow. She leaned her back against the casket and stared intensely at the little lit candle. She drew her hands to her face and choked through her sobs at the reality.

For a brief moment she raised her head to a passing breeze raking across her face again. Her eyes fell at the candle's orange flame twisting and waving its tiny fiery glow. It reminded her of Ashley's final seconds in this world. Cobalt eyes closed to the memory once more. With it her grief pressed warm tears to touch the cold night air. She silently cried her weighted grief to the dark empty room, burying her face into her hands again.

"You were my life..."

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><p>Gregory Magnus strolled along an empty cobbledstoned avenue in the Praxian underworld. A soft passing vapor mass danced quietly across the capital buildings and streets like a creeping shadow. Although Hollow Earth did have its own controlled environment that did in fact produce actual various weather patterns prevalent to the surface above, like this very miasma fog. For Gregory it was still, artificial and unalive, a recreation and most literal; fake.<p>

The mist and dew of the night lingered on his face, like a soft rain. He was walking alone back to his residence from a recent Council meeting. There was a peaceful air on the street, lit and aided by hanging lanterns that flickered its flame twisting and bending inside glass lamp poles. Every evening was like a passive walk into the past, of old London.

Gregory wiped away the watery mist from his forehead with an old hanky, given to him from Helen. It was a small gift she had presented to him as a child, for Christmas. Or rather one of his she had found in his work desk that she had wrapped with care in paper and string. He never went about without it.

On nights like these and even during the days, _the fake days of sunshine and night_, Gregory would imagine Helen walking out from a side meeting street, arms open for a hug. He missed her so. He knew that to keep her protected he had to walk away for her. Staying at the Sanctuary would only endanger her and her work and he would never let that happen._  
><em>

Hollow Earth was like a futuristic London, perhaps a London that had never seen the light of day, per se, of the dark ages. A sort of realm that existed to show what great feats of humanity could arise if man had not condemned punishments to new ideas that caused absolute fear. Fear from the unknowns of what man did not understand.

Gregory remembers reading, with much sadness, how alchemy in its early years would have warranted prison and death. It was the early days of science. _For it is man's greatest need to learn and discover new frontiers and ideas. _As like the Salem Witch trials once did, death asserted itself from fear. _Man has so much to learn. So much not to fear. _It was sad that Hollow Earth, the mere center of the very planet was where man and Abnormal could live together in harmony and continue making efforts to improve life.

Gregory leaned into his wooden cane, as his black boots shuffled over the laden stone, the bottom end of his cane clicking each time he placed it back on the street. It almost sounded like a horse's hoof. It had been a long time since he had ridden a horse. The very thought amused him into a smile.

He loved walking the peaceful streets of Hollow Earth at night. There was always a sentiment of magic in the air in the wee hours of the morning—an odd sense that made him feel like he was in a dream world, where time actually stood still. He thought of Helen and her Sanctuary and all that knowledge she had wanted to share and the decades of work that had been studied and cataloged. Gregory's thoughts fled back to the last time he saw his daughter last and his brief time getting to know his granddaughter. Ashley had grown at a normal rate as any child would. However, Ashley did have the recessive gene as did John, for teleportation. Helen had discovered this shortly after Ashley was born. There was a rare genetic sequence, thousands of threads long, which held a specific magnetic field. The field itself surrounding these genes were minuet but the smallest of variances in the sequences held the power of instantaneous transport. But these traits were recessive and dormant. And as a medical doctor one knows that such genes usually do not 'turn on' during one's lifetime.

Gregory let the memory fall away as he found himself studying the weaving patterns from inside a lantern's housing just ahead. He watched the blue tinged leaf shaped fire flamed dance in twisted life when suddenly, a noise startled him. A loud thud accompanied with a roaring cry filled the empty spaces around him. It had come from an adjacent meeting street just ahead.

He began to walk faster, aware of his limited range of motion but nevertheless quickly stumbled around the corner. A gasping and disoriented body met him. His only companion on this quiet street. He approached with reserve, not wanting to startle a fright and reached down with his left hand to try and steady the person crouched at his feet. "Stay calm, stay calm. What has happened?" Gregory bent down further, dropping his cane to the cobbled street and placed a hand to the shoulder of the stranger.

The relenting gasping continued as a face slowly surfaced and groggily stared up at him. "Dear god child." Gregory nearly collapsed as he stared back into Ashley's blue eyes.

Ashley's blue eyes were entirely unfocused and unnaturally dilated. He could tell this much from the soft light of the street lanterns. Ashley's labored breathing was loud and automatically erratic, and she clawed and reached her arms out unconsciously as if to draw air back to fill her lungs.

Gregory could see her nails were long and black, vampiric like. He had seen his before, in Nikola. "My dear," his voice increasingly frantic. Gregory kneeling beside her, was lost in absolute confusion as he watched his granddaughter fight to find breaths right in front of him. He could not fathom how she was there, in Hollow Earth. But that was the least of his worries.

"Breathe my dear. It is me, Gregory, your grandfather. Ashley can you hear me?" He gently grabbed her wrists to keep her from reaching up to his face, unwillingly as she was. But her heightened strength was subsiding. He could feel the resistance abate the longer he pushed her hands down to her stomach.

Ashley's blue eyes slowly rolled up into her head, slipping her into unconsciousness. Her breathes remained loud as her autonomic response took over once again as her body ached for the life supply of oxygen. Ashley's body was slumped at his feet, and on her side. Gregory knew he had to get her off the streets, and fast.

Gregory reached to his side grasping for his cane. He leaned into the brick wall of the side building and used it as a second crutch to stable himself to his feet. He only had to get Ashley half way down the street to his front door, and get her safely inside.

"Alright, I am going to help you, we are going to find out was has happened." Gregory was doing his best to keep his fears from keeping his own body from collapsing down, motionless onto the street corner. He knew he could not pick his granddaughter up with his injured leg, so he did his best to gently pull her to his front door. With one hand on his cane, and one hand clinging to her black collar, he made his way warily to his door across the street.

There inside Gregory had Ashley safely inside his home free from prying eyes. He had brought her to the glass elevator and to the top floor of his building, into his library. As a scientist and medical doctor it was the safest place Ashley could be. Second only, at her home, in her mother's care.

Gregory's residence was a building located on a corner street in the center of Praxis. Large windows the size of walls opened to the city beyond. His library was almost incredulous to the eye. He had pulled Ashley into the middle of this room, and placed a small pillow beneath her head. He had gone to his study and gathered both his medical instruments as well as Hollow Earth technology to find the cause of Ashley's critical state.

Ashley's breathing had calmed back down to around 60 beats a second. Gregory had kneeled down to her and was checking her pulse from her neck. She laid still and unconscious. Her nails had retracted and no sign of the other Sanguine Vampiris traits. Gregory had formulated a hypothesis of a late genetic mutation occurring in her DNA. He knew she was a child from two source blood parents and he often wondered why she had never herself had traits surface like this before.

He had learned of Ashley during the short stay at the Sanctuary, after Helen had removed the Cabal cockroach that kept his memories suppressed. He had learned much but not enough about the life Helen and Ashley had lived, alone without him. But he did know that Ashley had no prior Abnormalities surface in that time.

"Alright, your breathing is normal, no sign of visible trauma," his voice was shaky as was his knees and hands. He continued to speak aloud as he walked his way through his assessment. He opened her eyelids and checked her pupil's responsiveness to light. The black pupil, still dilated barley retracted in size as he shined a small blue light over her sightline. "Head trauma may be a possible cause." He hoped that she wasn't bleeding inside her brain. Brain swelling could be a very cause of her eye dilation.

Gregory pulled a small silver tablet from his small pile of medical instruments. The Hollow Earth device had a touchscreen and beeped as he tapped the corner with his thumb. He held it above Ashley's head and watched as colors lit up following the neural pathways of her brain. The handheld device was measuring EEG activity. The scans revealed normal Delta wave patterns associated with deep sleep. He watched as a 3D colored image of her brain transposed itself above the touchscreen as a hologram. He could clearly see that there was no sign of bleeding in the brain.

He let out a sigh of relief—as he feared he may have had to bring her to a medical unit here in Praxis, and it was the last thing he wanted to do, without having any answers. He placed the silver tablet sideways against the side of her head to keep a current scan and real time overview of her condition. If anything changed the medical tablet would notify him with a beeping alert.

Gregory put his stethoscope to her and listened to her heartbeats. "Alright, there are no irregular rhythms or fluid in your lungs. That is a very good sign." If no outer and inner trauma was visible, it would be up to the blood tests to determine a cause. Or at least that is what he hoped would give him the answers that he needs.

He took a Hollow Earth hypodermic encased in a clear glass-like syringe. He placed it over her jugular and extracted a vile of blood. He filled numerous vials as he did not know if he could do this once again when consciousness would return.

He took the vials and gathered his medical instruments and went to take a seat at his desk in front of the large window, overlooking Praxis. He placed a few drops of blood onto the surface of another touchscreen tablet and watched as a holographic graph emerged, revealing both the contents found in Ashley's blood and plasma.

The substances and genetic codes were instantly crossed with the Hollow Earth's Abnormal and infectious data base. The words _Sanguine Vampiris_ was highlighted in red and hovering over a specific sequence. Gregory was intrigued but still in fear of why this was happening.

But it was the holographic images of her DNA that warranted the most confusion. The double helix DNA spun slowly around from above the screen in a spectrum of reds, yellows, blues and greens. But in between the sequences, portions of the DNA chains were blinking.

He reached out a finger and waved over the highlighted genetic floating ribbons. Anger hissed from his voice. "Bloody hell, someone's done something to you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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><p>Gregory stared intently at the holographic image. The DNA helix spiral twisted slowly, hovering six inches in height from the tablet's surface. It was morning in Hollow Earth, and its sunrise beamed rays into the room and through the hologram causing a rainbow prism effect of colors bouncing on the surface of Gregory's wooden desk.<p>

So much of the human genome is a foreign language to man, but here in Praxis the veil of mysteries didn't completely cover the eyes searching for knowledge.

Gregory waved a single finger over a few chains of the DNA that were highlighted. His eyes squinting as he looked closer, "You, are recessive," he said whispering to himself.

"You are a recessive trait for Sanguine Vampiris." He looked down at the holographic tablet and flicked his finger over the blinking sequence of genes again. "Ah, I know what you are. A trait for vampiric nails,… claws," he raised his eyebrows. For him any nail longer than half an inch was a claw.

"Someone has butchered your very genome." He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"You have been exposed to the source blood."

Gregory leaned back in his chair—his mind heavy with both worry and wonder.

_Who could have done this? Was it you Ashley? Did you try and inject yourself with the blood?_

As a medical doctor he was used to running experiments to find causes of illness and changes. But Ashley's blood samples could not talk for her. He would have to wait until she awoke.

* * *

><p><strong>A few weeks after Ashley's funeral<strong>

Druitt sat quietly; watching as a few morning passersby strolled silently by him dressed in black wool coats and knitted carves. A few morning song birds tweeted above him from inside their warm nests, cradled between the metal arches above the base of the Eiffel Tower.

It had been a long time since his face graced the presence of a sunrise. That and he wished he had seen a century's worth of them with Helen.

He sat alone, on a black iron bench. His mind reverted back to the French café the evening before. _How could she just gracefully sit in that chair and sip her tea? After what she did to Ashley._

Druitt had followed Dana to France, and had watched her from a table away—the murderer of their daughter.

_She will not cause any harm, to anyone, anymore_.

Druitt closed his eyes and thought of Helen. With a wisp of cold air, and a flash of red flare, he disappeared.

* * *

><p>Ashley's room was still Ashley's room. Her kick boxing equipment still hung on its metal frame, her desk and stationary bike still unmoved—like still backdrops in a painting.<p>

Helen had spent all of the past night on Ashley's bed in thought, of where she went wrong as a mother.

When Ashley was younger, she was the one running into Helen's room when frightened. Now it was Helen who was lost.

Morning, however unwelcomed, gave wake to bloodshot eyes in a brightly lit room. Helen slowly blinked her heavy eyelids then closed them again wishing it would take her away from this world. Magnus was tired of questioning herself and her life. It drained the soul to feel such chaotic sadness. She could feel her life falling apart around her, and also had watched it, and could feel herself disappearing from the once logic and cognitive side she so deeply upheld for most of her 158 years.

She didn't want to move from where she lay—curled up in the fetal position with her hands clutching a pillow. It seemed her world was fading to black, and so was her heart.

A gust of air blew her dark bangs from her forehead as a red flash lit up the space beside her.

_John._

As a courtesy the Big Guy had let him in, and told him of where Helen was. Biggie had seen her walk into Ashley's room the night before but did not want to bother her. And he knew if she didn't want company, she would be the one to throw Druitt out. But because of the circumstance surrounding his arrival back into their lives, however short in maybe he felt it only prudent to let him talk with her.

Druitt bent down to the side of Ashley's bed. He reached a hand to wipe away the tears streaming down Helen's face. "Helen," his voice tender and low. "It has been done, the dismantling of the Cabal web. Nikola and I made it so. There may be hidden remnants left over, and in time I suspect they will rise again but the fighting will stop for now. You have my word."

Helen kept silent and just stared out across the room.

He sighed to himself and sat down on the bed next to her. Silently he sat, without words to speak. But for Helen, is was the comfort of him being near her, being that close, that allowed her to finally, at last fall asleep.

* * *

><p>"Mom!" A disoriented and desperate cry echoed through the room. The cry startled Gregory as he sat analyzing the holographic DNA chains. He turned around in his chair to see Ashley stirring back to consciousness. Her body slowly twitching as she tried to roll to her side.<p>

Gregory grabbed a handheld device from the desktop and made his way over to Ashley, cautiously.

Ashley blinked her eyes open to a large room. For a moment she thought she was back in the Sanctuary. Home.

Her eyesight was a little blurry but could make out a huge wall of books. She called out again, frantic. "Mom!"

"Ashley, Ashley it's alright, you're safe. You are safe here." Gregory stopped a few feet away from her as he watched her body betray her as she struggled for balance.

_What is this place? Where am I? _Ashley's mind was spinning a torrent of scattered memories from the days past and weeks under the control of the Cabal. She was suddenly struck with the painful emotions from the water tank and the sight of the short Cabal scientist lady injecting substances into her IV lines. The feeling of being helpless to fight back and the vulnerability overloaded her senses, causing her collapse down from her knees and onto the wooden floor. "Stop, Stop!" She was screaming the words in complete horror as she started to cry out. "Mom! I can't stop her. Please make her stop!"

Gregory was overcome with fear too and risked a kneel down to her side. Her reached with his left hand and gently placed it on her arm. "Ashley it is me, Gregory, your grandfather. My dear you will not be harmed."

Ashley could feel her heart pounding as if it was about to beat of her chest, but above this she heard a voice. It was familiar. She knew this voice. She shifted up and tilted her head up from the floor, and stared blankly at the man crouching down to her. She blinked through tears to find that she recognized his face.

She tried to focus her eyes, keeping her hands held around her head.

Gregory could see she was in shock, her body trembling beneath his touch.

Ashley looked up at her grandfather. "Gregory?" She reached out a hand and touched his familiar face.

"Yes, darling. It's me." He gave her a reassuring smile. His blue eyes bright with concern. "Ashley you are at my residence. You are safe here."

Ashley leaned up with tear filled eyes to wrap her shaking arms around him. It had been so long since she had felt any semblance of safety.

He placed his arms around her and hugged her back. She pulled him close and tight. "How did I get here? What am I doing here?"

"I found you on a street Ashley. You were collapsing to the ground. I helped you into my home."

An intense memory flashed in her thoughts. She saw her mom, on the floor of the sublevel, crying. "My Mom! Where is she?"

She pulled back, still shaking and confused.

_This is going to be a tough one, _he thought. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Ashley you need to listen to me carefully." He gave her a nod of assurance. "You are in a city called Praxis. We are miles beneath the surface in a city unknown to the rest of the known world."

It was the simple truth.

Ashley eyes didn't blink. Her expression stone still.

Gregory gave a smile to try and comfort the weight of his words.

"Gregory how did I get here?" She asked again.

"I don't know the answer to that Ashley. I found you here."

Memories of the destruction of the Sanctuary Network came to the forefront of her thoughts.

"The source blood." Ashley whispered each word by itself, trailing off briefly with each.

"Gregory," her eyes were heavy with guilt, "the Cabal changed me."

She leaned back to try and stand to her feet.

"Henry and I got captured at a Cabal facility, when we were trying to download information on a biological weapon used for killing Abnormals." Her memory was returning in waves. It was hard to funnel each as they raced and bled together. But she was remembering.

Gregory had a rush of anger flush his face. He had decided not stay with Helen for the very fact that they could become an even more deadly target for the Cabal. Now he wished he would have stayed. He helped pull her up from the floor.

"Here dear, this way come sit." He led her to the chair and desk at the window. She slowly started to walk being guided by his hand on her back, to the chair. As she got closer she looked up in awe of the sight beyond the huge window. A London like city glimmered like a quartz crystal in the morning glow. Praxis was the most impressive thing she'd ever seen.

"Oh my god," she was overwhelmed to this new environment. Briefly numbing her from her last thoughts. "Gregory what is this place?"

She crawled into the chair nearly falling out from the seat's edge before Gregory caught her and aided her to keep her straight up. Her head still reeling from the wake to consciousness.

He wanted to enquire a response about her information about the Cabal, but decided to let her take in her surroundings and orient herself to the new environment.

Ashley placed both hands on the desk to keep her from totally slumping forward. Her eyes slowly scanned the horizon; the windows, the immense details of the brick work and the ancient-like streets below. The very sight took her breath away.

Blues and silvers lit up the buildings in a wild kaleidoscope of colors. "It's so beautiful," she muttered almost incoherently. She slightly shook her head back and forth as she took in the view.

Gregory laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ashley this the greatest advancement of humanity. Science and technology here have been in constant progress for thousands of years. There we rumors of this city, rumors that had been passed down for countless centuries. It was a legacy of sorts for me to try and find it. Like many legends of man's past, Eldorado and Atlantis, this was just one that I began an expedition to find."

Ashley took her eyes off of the city and looked back at Gregory. He smiled.

"Many years ago my expedition to Mecca ran aground on the Red Sea. A storm, bloody powerful, snapped our mast in two and ripped our sails from their hard lines. We were at the mercy of the sea."

He raised his head up and looked out to the city. "I was able to keep hold to a piece of wreckage. The current carried me to a cave of sorts. And I remember crawling up this small easement into a large opening. I spoke to many before I was brought in to the city's hierarchy. In time I earned their trust and now I work alongside scientist and personnel. I over see a number of projects here and work with the medical units here in Praxis. My history with Abnormal science, made for an incredible new life for me here."

Ashley sighed heavily. If only Helen knew that her daughter was alive, safe in the care of her father, and in a city of absolute wonder.

Ashley memories faded in and out with every throb in her head. Gregory was the only person she could trust right now. And she had to try and make an attempt to explain what she's been through. And what she's done.

As incredible as Gregory's story was, Ashley's journey from hell and back was consuming her every thought. As so in truth, she found her words.

"Gregory I've done something horrible."

He couldn't imagine a truth to that.

Her voice was heavy with guilt, this much he noticed.

"Whatever it is Ashley, we will fix it."

She heard his words. But knew this was something unforgivable—in her mind.

Her voiced cracked as tears filled her eyes. She reached up to grab his hand. He knelt down on his good knee in front of her.

She hesitated for a few moments before acknowledging the unimaginable. "I destroyed Mom's Sanctuaries. All of them. Every last one."

Gregory kept still as a statue, his eyes not blinking in the moment. "The Cabal used the source blood to change me. They made copies of others just like me. They used me as weapon to kill the heads of households, and to kill my mom. I can't remember everything," she voiced as her throat seized on her. "It's all a blur."

She started to cry—her sobs uncontrolled. Gregory stood back up and grabbed Ashley into a hug.

"Oh my dear child." That is all he could summon in speech. The Cabal was like a terrorist militia, blind puppets to the most cowardly of puppet masters. He knows the Cabal is a violent organization creating holocausts in their wake, but this, using his own granddaughter as a weapon, was beyond dreadful.

"I was in the sublevel with my mom. I was trying so hard to fight against the changes. It was when another, like me came running in beside me to try and attack my mom. I grabbed her arm," Ashley choked back her heavy sobs, "but I stopped her. I found a way back to my mom. I didn't know how much longer I could keep control. I heard my mom's voice, almost like a whisper, like she was talking to me from a distance. But I listened. I listened hard until it became louder and louder."

She hugged Gregory tighter. "So I did the only thing I could, I teleported the other like me into a wall at the bottom of the Sanctuary. For a second I tried to think of some place safe away from home. Your face flashed into my mind. That is the last I thing I remember before waking up here."

But it horrified her that she still wasn't sure if she had hurt her mother more. She didn't want to admit the unimaginable.

Ashley breathed in deep sighs and leaned away from Gregory. "I must have teleported to you, by thinking of you. That must be how I got here."

"That is most certainly a possibility as you have your father's recessive genes for this Abnormality.

Ashley wiped her face and nose. She kept her head down as she spoke. "I am glad I found you."

Ashley knew nothing could calm her from the Cabal's actions taken against her, but sitting here with Gregory, with family did give her a sense of comfort—something she had longed for since she found herself a prisoner, a guinea pig for the Cabal. She looked down at her fingers. The nails were human and she feared how long they would stay like that.

"And I am glad you are here." Gregory had not known his granddaughter long before he left the Sanctuary, but knew there was nothing he wouldn't do for either of them.

He couldn't fathom how Ashley felt. What she must have gone through. Gregory would do everything in his power to fix what the Cabal had done and he'd stop at nothing to find a way to get her back to Helen.

Gregory patted her on her shoulder. He lowered his voice with a calm tone, "It is nothing we can't handle together my dear. You will get through this. I promise."

She knew he was trying to keep positive. It was a nice attempt.

"Alright dear, first things first. I'm sure you would like a change of clothes and something to eat. Let us take one thing at a time. We will continue this discussion but it is imperative that we eat something to help keep our wits."

Ashley forced a smile, trying her best to show that she was not on the brink of an emotional melt down. "Okay." Her words barely left her mouth.

She looked away and took notice of the blood vials in glass tubes and holographic imaging tablets on his desk. Gregory followed her unfocused gaze.

"I had to draw your blood for testing. These samples are being cross referenced with our city's data base. I ran these blood panels as a medical precaution as I feared your condition was becoming grave."

She was so glad that Gregory was a medical doctor. _Maybe he can fix what the Cabal has done to me._

"Ashley dearest" he whispered caringly as he thoughtfully placed a hand to cover hers which was shaking atop the table. He forced a bend of knee down beside her and stared his bright green eyes up at her. "We will put these lost pieces together. But for now I will cook us breakfast, make some tea, and we will rest our minds for a short while the blood samples are being tested. Do no worry we will get to the bottom of what the Cabal did to you. Trust me my child."

She sat quietly with helpless blue eyes hoping he could do as he promised.

He promised again with a silent nodding affirmation. "Trust me."

And she did. He was family. He was her grandfather. There wasn't anyone else she could trust more at this moment in time as she found herself a world away from her mother.

He affectionately tapped her shaking hand again offering her a soft smile. "Now, is there anything specific you would like for breakfast?"

Ashley could tell his voice changed echoing a more fatherly tone. She gave it some thought as her wary mind raked over emotions unsettled. A simple okay came as an acknowledging nod. Then she offered a half smile through a sea of seeping tears. "Scone?"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Thank you again to all of you who have placed my story on Story Alert/Favorite and for those just dropping in to take the time to read my words. Thanks so much you guys!

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Ashley sat quietly in a wooden chair at Gregory's kitchen table, a small white tea cup steaming in her hands. Another large open window flanked the wall behind in the open living area, giving a view down into the street she had teleported into some hours before. She had been grateful to change out of that ridiculous Cabal garment and into a pair of Gregory's black trousers and a black fitted long sleeve top. She noticed a patch on the shoulders reading, _Praxis Medical Unit_. It wasn't the worst of wears she thought. _Anything is better than that crap I had worn under the Cabal's control_. Gregory was at the stove, a more advanced conventional stove she noticed. It had a black even screened surface. She noticed how different it was compared to the grill-like one from home. _Home. _That thought of returning to her mom, after all that she had done, sickened her. _How would anyone ever forgive me?_

She placed the tea cup down feeling queasy. She even refused the glass of water sitting on the table for her. Her head was still reeling. She rubbed her forehead, resting her elbows on the table, and closed her eyes. She was grappling with sitting in her grandfather's home, in a gigantic city under the Earth, and having just destroyed the legacy of her mom's work. She was wondering how she even had the strength to sit up straight.

Gregory had placed his holographic scanner on the large wooden table Ashley was sitting at. She opened her eyes again and watched in deep curiosity at the colors bending and spinning around from the tablet's surface. She wondered what the scans were revealing.

Gregory opened the stove door, reached in with a heated glove, and pulled out a tray. He then put the English style biscuit on a white saucer. He turned to walk over to Ashley. "There you are my dear, a scone." He gave her a wink as he placed the breakfast request in front of her. She gave a slight smile and stared at the food. Her stomach had started spinning and now she realized she really wasn't hungry. She looked back at the scanner.

"Gregory, what exactly is that device doing?"

Gregory walked back over from the stove and pulled out a chair across from her. He ran his fingers through the colored image. "This device is reading your DNA. It is identifying your genes. Specifically, the ones that have been altered. You see, the source blood has awakened your recessive traits that have come from your mother and Druitt. These were once dormant and did not reveal themselves before. Once the source blood was injected they became dominant. "

"Nice," was Ashley's short response. "Sorry, I can't think straight right now." Her exhaustion was keeping her from focusing fully on what Gregory was saying. She closed her eyes again and put her head into her hands.

"Ashley your blood samples show you have a marked iron deficiency. Is that normal for you?"

"No. Is that why I'm so tired?"

"It could be? We'll have to wait for the scans to complete all of the testing before we know anymore."

She nodded slowly in understanding. "So what does that mean now? Is this something you can fix?" Gregory was starting to get more concerned as he noticed her skin complexion on her face— her natural color had left her. She looked exhausted. Her eyes had dark circles and her pupils were still slightly sluggish in her focus. He could not imagine the demons she was trying so hard to keep hidden—the emotions from the violent and murderous rampage she had par taken in, unwillingly. He gave her a worried look. "Ashley are you alright?" He could see that her face had become even paler than before.

She took in a slow deep breath. "Yeah. I'm just tired. Stomach doesn't feel too good. Maybe I just need some sleep?"

Gregory gave her a nod. "I am going down to the Medical Unit in a few minutes and I will bring back some equipment. I can give you some fluids intravenously and some medication to help your rest. And this is not a request okay?"

She was tired. So tired and just wanted to be home in her warm bed with the days having been erased from her mind and from time.

Ashley knew Gregory had her best interests at heart. She needed to listen to him. "Sounds peachy." She halfway smiled.

"I will do everything in my power to reverse the damage Ashley." His voice had taken a more authoritative tone. "This may take some time, but we have many resources available to us here in Praxis. Your genes also have been modified somehow." He tapped the touchscreen device and a highlighted gene sequence maximized its size, as if they had zoomed in to the screen. "This is what worries me. See this; this is the nucleus of the Sanguine Vampiris cell, the trait for long nails. There is a substance, a residual fluid of some kind inside the cell wall. Like a cloudy cytoplasm of sorts. It can't be identified by our data base."

_Oh great, as if things can't get any worse. _

"I assume this is some sort of inorganic byproduct of the Cabal's genetic manipulations. This substance is found in all of your Sanguine Vampiric cells. All of which are the physical traits for eyes, teeth, and nails, and strength. As a medical doctor I can only hypothesis that it is a substance that kept your traits active, overriding your conscious decision prohibiting you to shut them off yourself. The Cabal must have designed a way to time yours vampiric tendencies to turn on and off when they used you…"

He stopped talking. He could see Ashley was looking away. She leaned off to the side of the chair to leave the table, "I think I should go lay down for a while." She didn't want to hear any more about the Cabal. About her genes. About the damn Sanguine Vampiris. She could barely focus for one second without the image of her mom lying on the floor on the sublevel in tears.

Gregory quickly got up from his chair, grabbed his cane he had resting against the table, and hobbled over to her. "I will leave now to get the supplies for us, you can rest on the sofa here." She walked into the open living area opposite the kitchen. A sofa was set up facing the large window. She slowly made her way over and fell into the soft cushions, one leg hanging over the edge. On her stomach she closed her eyes. Gregory leaned down to check her pulse. It was normal and strong. But something wasn't right. Her tested blood samples did show a marked iron deficiency, but it could be one in a number of resulting effects from her exposure to the Cabal's control. "Rest my dear; I will be gone about an hour. I shall not be gone long." He reached to the arm of the sofa and took a small blanket and covered his granddaughter, and placed a kiss to her cheek. She had already fallen asleep. With that he left to make his way to the main medical facility in Praxis.

Nearly an hour and a half had passed before Ashley awoke. Her eyes opened suddenly with a jolt of her body. She laid still momentarily as she adjusted herself to waking up. Only seconds later did she feel her body start to tremble. She tried to push herself upright off the sofa and when she did, the sofa shredded beneath her exposed vampiric nails.

"Oh crap!" she yelled.

The black leather ripped in five long openings as each of her hands went back with her. The shaking of her body got more severe and she fell off the sofa onto the floor. She could feel sharps pains shoot through her fingers and then into her eyes. She groaned as she attempted to keep her hands away from her body. She tried to resist the urge to try to stand as every muscle in her body constricted into violent spasms. She desperately tried to imagine her claws retracting back. But nothing happened. The pain became unbearable and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Gregory opened the front door to his residence minutes later. He walked in with a pack on his back. He had returned from his time at the Praxis Medical Unit with all that he needed to help Ashley. "Ashley, it's me, I have returned." He closed the door behind him. She didn't respond. _She must be still sleeping_. He walked into the large living area and headed to the sofa Ashley had fallen asleep on. As he neared the sofa he saw that she was on the floor. "Ashley."

He hurried to her side and knelt down and saw that her eyes were opening. "Ashley, what happened?"

"Gregory?"

"Yes dear, it's me. What happened?"

Ashley slowly raised her arms to look at her hands. "My vampire nails were out. My whole body cramped up." She gave out a heavy sigh. "Oh god my head hurts." It was a struggle just to get those few words out. Gregory reached down and checked her pulse. "Your heart rate is elevated but not like it was when I first found you. Just take it easy, I have brought medical equipment that will give us some much needed answers."

"Uh huh, okay." Ashley closed her eyes again. Every time she tried to speak her head would spin. Gregory pulled the blanket back over her.

"How do you feel right now?" He took a small penlight from his pack and ran it across her sightline.

"Ashley open your eyes for me." He gently placed a hand on her forehead to turn her head slightly towards him.

"A little dizzy," Ashley spoke in labored breathes, "a little nauseous."

Ashley's pupils responded to the light and retracted some, but not enough.

"Your eyes are still sluggish." His voice was low. Ashley could tell he was trying to stay calm. "Dehydration can play a cause in your condition as well."

Ashley closed her eyes as he took the penlight away.

"Okay Ashley I am going to give you some fluids. We need to get your levels elevated". Ashley gave a small nod in agreement. "Okay."

Gregory reached in his pack and pulled out a small IV bag. Inside the bag was a bluish colored mixture. Ashley opened her eyes at the rustling of clicks and sounds as Gregory was connecting wires to tablets.

"A blue, bag?" Ashley groaned.

Gregory smiled, "Do not worry this will replenish your iron levels and electrolytes."

Gregory pushed up the long sleeve over her arm, tapping at her skin to shock a vein to raise slightly under the skin. He took a small handheld scanner, much like the shape of a pen, and clicked a small button.

"This little device has a light emitting diode that sterilizes the surface of your skin of any bacteria, germs, or any other foreign substances."

"Sweet." Ashley tried to keep one eye open to observe him.

After the pulsating light cascaded over her inner arm, he placed in back into the bag.

Gregory took a glass-like syringe and slowly and painlessly stuck the exposed vein. "Keep your arm still and hold on one minute, I'll be right back."

He got up and walked over to the large front door and grabbed his coat rack, a tall iron clad pole with an upside down umbrella design at the top.

He brought it over near the sofa and placed it next to a side table, then hung the IV bag from the top.

"Genius," muttered Ashley. Using the coat rack to the hang the IV bag was quite clever she thought.

"I would say so." Gregory gave a warm smile.

He connected the end of the IV line to the catheter in her vein and gave her a warm smile. "All done."

He reached in his pack and pulled out another touchscreen tablet. "And this is what we call the Electron Scanning Pad or ESP. I uploaded your blood samples to this."

"We can see your Sanguine Vampiric cell structures on a much more detailed level with this."

_There's that word again. Why can't everyone just say vampire. It takes such less effort._

He placed the tablet down and gently brushed her hair back around her ear. "Now you rest darling, I will keep a close watch over you while you sleep. We'll figure all this out."

"Okay," Ashley's voice faded to a whisper, "thank you."

Gregory injected a small sedative into her IV. "Everything is going to be alright."

He hoped to see her sleep at least eight hours or more. But the Sanguine traits are powerful and are known to resist outside attempts to change the metabolism of the body. He knew there was a chance the genes would inhibit his effort to administer a light sedative.

Gregory did not know how much this would play in this granddaughter's recover so he dared not give her a heavy dose of sedation. Her body was still in a fragile state and he was scared to disrupt any stability that was left in her.

He placed the syringe back inside a small black case and patted Ashley on the shoulder. "I will get you back to her Ashley, we will find a way to get you back home to your mother."

The sedation was quickly absorbed by Ashley's body. Exhaustion and the now injected sedative pushed her further into a deep sleep. At least for now, she could peacefully rest.

Gregory checked her IV again then pulled the blanket back over her. He took the ESP tablet and sat down on the sofa. He tapped at the touchscreen and honed in on the foreign fluid free floating in the nucleus of the Sanguine blood sample. He analyzed both the red and white blood cells, and started intently at the formation of the nucleus. Inside he could see tiny structures inside the dark colored fluid inside the cell's brain center. They looked like proteins. His brow lowered in thought. "Proteins? In an unidentified free floating substance." He tap the fluid image with his finger and waited for the advanced data base to verify its contents.

_The proteins could be some form of antibody? Perhaps your body mutated a defense mechanism to combat the changes forced by the Cabal? _

Once the Sanguine traits become dominant the genes override the immune system and convert all antibodies, making them highly adaptable in combating illness and injury. That is how Nikola can heal himself from injuries—and why his body does not react to alcohol, most obviously, wine.

The tablet beeped. 'Unidentified substance'.

The very words shocked Gregory. The data base of Praxis was vast. It puzzled him to learn that even here answers were still elusive. He became angered.

"What the bloody hell are you?" He asked the fluid, knowing that he was talking more to himself.

"You look like an antibody, so we will start there."

He could see how the recessive genes had been turned on by the source blood. The purest form of the source blood forces the production of its own kind of red and white blood cells within the bone marrow of the one exposed. The white blood cells of the Sanguine blood have a double cell wall, unlike the single cell wall structure in a human. The outer ring has tiny ridges, teeth like, as a ribosome has. Since Ashley's white blood cells had always been normal this was proof the cells laid dormant. Looking at them now, only about half were like this. As with Nikola—meaning they are only half vampire, not purebreds so to speak.

Inside the Sanguine red blood cells the mitochondria, the power house of a cell which produces ATP, the energy molecule, is five times the size of a normal human. This is how the vampire line gets its incredible strength. Gregory could see the nucleus in these cells all have that distinct dark fluid present.

He believed the Cabal had controlled her mind remotely, with highly sophisticated machines. Some kind of signal had directed to her brain to keep her under their control. Brainwaves each have a specific pattern for an emotion. Some wavelengths are longer, shorter, wider, and narrower, depending on the thought reactions of a living being. The Cabal must have found a way to manipulate them from long distances which forced her actions beyond herself control. _Probably by satellite. _

_How much did Helen know of this?_

He began making notes and logged them into his touchscreen tablet. If the data base of Praxis could not give him answers he would have to unravel the mystery himself. First and foremost he would help Ashley recover physically. This was one thing he felt he could manage with the advanced medical equipment he has access to. If and when he and Ashley can work on a way to get her back home, he would send with her all information he has discovered since her arrival. _Helen I will keep her safe until she returns to you._

* * *

><p>Druitt opened his eyes to see a vaulted ceiling with long mahogany wooden beams. For a second he was not aware of his current location.<p>

_Helen_.

He remembered now.

He had fallen asleep beside Helen. She had her right arm tucked under her and the other across his chest, clenching the side of his shirt; her head resting on his shoulder. He dared not move to wake her. He had remembered after they injected the source blood neither of them had slept for days. In that time they traversed the streets of London at all hours of the day and night. It was like an euphoria of alertness that ceased to call upon the urge to sleep. Many a nights they would take a river boat on The Thames and wade until sunrise. They were days that ended too quickly.

Helen stirred and nuzzled her head into his shoulder, then pulled in her arm from across his chest. He could see she was blinking her eyes to focus her surroundings.

"Helen," he said gently.

"Ugh," she groaned a tired response as she lifted her head to look up at his face.

"John?"

She leaned back to sit up. She took a hand to rub her forehead and temple. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"Your hairy butler was kind enough to let me enter. I had told him I have information about the dismantling of the Cabal Network. And that I needed to speak with you. He kindly obliged."

She was too tired to argue.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?"

He sat up and leaned his back against the head board of the bed then closed his eyes. "Nikola and I have managed to take out the heads of their many facilities, both in Canada and abroad. There were many of them Helen. The Cabal is like a virus, they infect many parts of the world. I suspect they will be impaired to rise again for quite some time."

Helen could hear no remorse whatsoever in his voice. Such was when the Ripper spoke.

They let silence fill the room as they both sat together. After a minute Helen pushed her pillow up towards the head board and laid on her side facing Druitt.

Druitt closed his eyes again and took a deep breath in and placed his hands in his lap. He was tired too.

Helen let her mind imagine what life would have been with John, her John if things hadn't gone bastardly wrong. _Would we have had more children? Would they have had our genetic dispositions? Where would we have settled? London? _A slight smile shocked her to reality. She realized she was wasting what energy she had left in pointless self-contemplations. _No more what ifs…this is such nonsense Helen._

She looked up at Druitt and watched him as he lay still with his eyes closed. She let her mind end the questions.

Druitt blinked his eyes open again and tilted his head down to Helen. She noticed his turn to her and looked up to him.

"Helen?" His voice hesitant with her name, as if a world of weight surrounded it.

"Yes." She kept her eyes to his.

He paused and started a few times before he spoke, as if the words were leaving his lips every time he tried to speak.

"Did Ashley… did she have any resemblance to me? I mean to say, in personality?"

Helen could hear a slight quiver in his voice. She could feel tears welling again in her eyes.

She looked away to find her memories.

Her voice came low and soft. "She had your laugh." The words were so hard to speak, but she fought through the tightness in her throat.

"When she would laugh really hard she would lose her wits, and giggle till she was full out of breath. It was all you John."

This simple comparison brought a warm grin to Druitt's face.

"She also had a strong focus to her work, more so during our bag'em and tag'em missions."

Druitt raised an eyebrow and let a smile cascade his face again. "Hmm, bag'em and tag'em. I had not heard that phrase in quite the while."

Helen remembered it was a phrase her and James had created on their excursions to capture and study Abnormals.

"She had a resolve and ambition like you. If she started something she would finish it. Sometimes later that sooner, but she would finish it. She was a great friend to all. There was nothing she wouldn't do for anyone."

Druitt quietly listened as he watched Helen speak of their daughter.

"But she had another side to her. She reflected on life more than anyone I ever knew. She would talk in great lengths of the wonders of the world—the possibilities of the future. As you did once. She was her father's daughter in more ways than you could ever imagine."

These few words about Ashley had filled in a small part of Druitt's empty soul.

He sat silently for a few moments. This new wave of emotion had silenced the inner darkness for a brief time. More like it drowned it out. Druitt held his breath. He could actually hear his own heartbeat without the tyrannical voice hovering over his mind. With the calm silence, only lasting a short while, he was overwhelmed with the knowledge of Ashley—his daughter.

"She was good." Druitt spoke in a low whisper as he smiled to himself.

The very phrase made Helen shudder. She understood what that meant—that no evil from his past and current digressions were ever found present in Ashley.

"Yes, she was so wonderful."

Helen fell silent and buried her head into the pillow as she brought up a hand to cover her face.

Druitt reached an arm to her shoulder. When she didn't turn away he leaned in closer to wrap his arms around her in an embrace.

Helen had been there for all of Ashley's life. He had only known her for a little while. But to learn that the best parts of him had lived within Ashley. At least he could find some comfort in that.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the others. I figured this was a nice break until the next longer bits. As always, thank you for reading. :)

* * *

><p>Events occur near the end of S4 Tempus.<p>

Chapter 4

_London England, 1898—_

Helen held her breath, turned the corner and lowered her head as she walked away from the dark alleyway. Adam Worth was dead. And the mere fact of Imogene's choice to follow them both out into the night, promised to carry out the future events that would hopefully, in Helen's mind keep the future the same.

_Or would it?_

Helen placed the Hollow Earth weapon into her right pocket as she walked past the oncoming people curious to find out what act of chaos was unraveling behind her. She hugged the brick walls of the streets and walked rather quickly as she made her way to the open breezeway to the center street conjunction where the four roads met ahead. A soft rain had begun to fall over London and she wiped her wet bangs away from her face as she kept her pace forward. Figures ahead were making their way through the small crowd rather hastily. As the two figures neared she turned to face the brick wall, hiding her face from their sight.

"My god James what on Earth could it be?"

Helen felt a cold shiver run up her spine as she heard her past self ask the question as she walked right by her. James and Helen were walking side by side as James gave a quick glance her way but reverted his eyes back to the alleyway behind her as he and Helen walked on.

Helen turned away from the brick wall, let out an exhausted sigh of relief, and made her way back to the London Sanctuary. As she distanced herself from the scene she heard a loud echoing of a gut wrenching scream behind her. She didn't turn around. She kept her head held high and pushed through her exhaustion and rain to her destination.

For a second she had thought she had seen a red flash out of the corner of her eye. But her eyes were tired and her ears were still ringing from the concussive weapon. But at this point, she found herself not caring either way.

She opened the large door to her London Sanctuary and walked in—her boots tapping on the marbled shiny floor. As she turned to close the heavy wooden door she was reminded of the heavy alloy frame that Declan and her derived and had bolted to the front door during the time Ashley and the super Abnormals made London their target. Before closing the door she pulled it back towards her, opening it again and walked out under the small archway. Closing the door behind her she stood and leaned back into the door, still grasping the door knob. The strong smell of chimneys burning wood, the coal from the trains departing their stations and the wet damp air was something she had missed deeply. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rest on the door then slid down to the cold stone entrance.

_How can I do this again?_

The fear of the unknowns started to creep inside her soul. She had lived two lifetimes already. Seen so much—experienced more loss and wonders than anyone could dream of. The memories she made the first time around, would there be any room left in her immortal mind to add another two lifetimes to them? Helen could feel her body start to tremble with the shock of realization. Her chest tightened as her throat tightened, sending tears down from her tired eyes.

_The first hundred years just came and went as if I was just living my life. I watched friends die, family disappear, and the world change. Dear god how am I going to do this all again?_

Helen continued to keep her eyes closed and head tilted back as she took in the sounds of old London while quietly crying her fears. The sounds of hooves clanking on cobblestones and the creaking of a wagon echoed as a horse drawn wagon passed outside the iron gates of the London Sanctuary's front yard. The rain drops started to fall harder and bounced over her black boots as they fell while being guided with a soft wind into the doorway. She lifted her hands from her sides and covered her face and pulled her knees to her chest. "I can't do this again," she sobbed, "this is just too hard." She buried her head in her knees and hugged her arms around her legs and stayed in the tight comforting position as her mind raced through over one hundred years of life.

The lure of the possibilities of being able to change the future invaded her very being—her first thoughts being of Ashley. She knew it would be wrong to change future events. It was not in her nature to take initiatives that would jeopardize the lives of people in the future.

But what if?

_What if there was a way to save her without causing a domino effect of complete chaos? What if I could figure out a way to bring her back to me in my time? Dear god she hasn't even been born yet... _

The very thought of bringing her daughter back into her life, into her arms, made her heart light up; her entire being felt alive again. Even with the smallest aching attempt to try and create some sort of plan whether rational or irrational, it felt right.

To hell with the world was one thought, but the morality and principles she had abided by for nearly two centuries reminded her of the greater good.

_What is the greater good?_

The greater good would be to have her own flesh and blood living and breathing. Helen rocked back and forth under the small archway, cold and shivering as she contemplated her situation. Her teeth chattered as she kept close the thoughts of having Ashley back in her life again. She had tried everything to save her. She hoped that Ashley knew that.

The memories of Ashley, her only daughter, ceased her tears as she let her mind fade back to the time she was alive. She could see her walking down the hallways of the Sanctuary holding Biggie's hand as they made their way to the sublevel. Biggie had always loved taking Ashley down to visit with the residents, mainly Sally. She was her favorite. As a little five year old she was most intuitive to her surroundings and had a natural gentleness to animals and creatures. Helen believed whole heartedly that she had gotten that from her.

She could still see her little face pressed against the cold glass enclosure to Sally's aquarium, her nose smashed and little hands touching the clear glass as her little giggle echoed through the sublevel as Sally would swim her way over to say hello. The memories were burned into her soul as was the last moment she saw her daughter's face.

Her mind continued to slip deeper into her memories so much that the sounds of old London where all but mute. She remembered the time they had returned to London when she was twelve. They were visiting James at the London Sanctuary and decided to take a little break from Sanctuary duties and ride horses on the outskirts of the country side. That was when Ashley broke her femur as the horse she was riding threw her off near a river creek. A small rodent, had scuttled beneath the horse and startled it.

Such memories were wonderful and painful at best but Helen knew even immortality would not cast them into a forgotten dark place.

But most of all, now, immortality of living without Ashley was in a sense, a death of its own.

Her decision was made.

_I will find a way to save you Ashley._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ashley had been sleeping for almost 15 hours. Gregory had been keeping close watch over her and her vitals as he studied her blood tests again and again. He had barely spent any time away from the sofa as he dared not leave Ashley's side for a long period of time.

He had been sitting quietly on the sofa, his mind racing from the microbiology details of the blood scans and his thoughts of Helen and what she must be going through at this very moment. The Cabal had taken her only daughter and used her as a weapon. That thought was almost impossible to believe.

Gregory still did not know all of the details surrounding Ashley's capture and the events leading up to her destroying the Network. But if that was something Ashley wanted to talk about with him, he'd let her words guide the conversation. He knew the guilt, though it was entirety not her fault, had the potential to destroy her emotional stability, or what was left of it. And he would make every effort to not let that happen while in his care.

Gregory still had no idea what the dark substance was that was found inside every nucleus of the Sanguine Vampiric cells. It more than baffled him. Gregory was in the most advanced civilization in the world and yet he couldn't pull back the veil of the unknowns. He thought it may have been some kind of residue from the Cabal's genetic manipulations, and it looked like a protein, because it had the similar structure of one.

"Blast." Gregory whispered to himself as he stared back at the live scan of the dark fluid. He nearly wanted to throw the tablet to the floor in his frustration. Gregory rarely if ever was a loss for answers. And with his granddaughter's condition as fragile as it was, this was unthinkable to him. He wanted answers now.

Ashley's hearing was the first to find consciousness as the words 'blast' echoed from behind her. She groggily opened her eyes and found a blurry room in front of her. The tall arched windows facing her had lost the gleam of the morning as it was now dark. The glass reflected only the small glow from the street lights below lining the cobblestone street.

She pulled free one arm that she had close to her chest and used it to try to push herself up. Her body felt rested and stronger but her mind was still in a haze of memories she was trying desperately to forget.

"Gregory?" she said as she tried to right herself to sit up.

Gregory placed the tablet down beside him and got up off the sofa to kneel down beside her. "Hello my dear, it is good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Ashley smiled as he bent down and checked her IV line in her arm. "I feel a little better," she rubbed her eyes with one hand as she scooted herself back so she could sit up against the front of the sofa. Her eyes slowly focused on the room around her once more then let her eyes return back to Gregory, "I feel okay. Actually a lot better."

Gregory noticed the tone of her words and voice had more strength than before. He placed a hand to her cheek and gave her a warm smile, "That is good. Now, how is your eyesight? Any dizziness?"

Ashley looked down at her hands and closely analyzed her nails, hoping they would not jump into Sanguine mode any time soon. "Ah, my vision was a little blurry when I opened my eyes," she blinked a few times as she raised her head to look at Gregory, "but it's getting clearer now." She smiled to reassure him.

"Wonderful." Gregory picked up a black tablet next to her and pointed to the screen highlighted with colors. "Your iron levels are back within the norm as is your blood pressure and pulse. Whatever it was that triggered your Sanguine responses must be controlled when your body's vitals are disrupted. I still have not been able to find out the cause of this."

Ashley could see his brow lower in annoyance to his words. It sent a wave of worry over her. "Gregory," her voice low and a little scratchy, "do you think whatever is wrong with me, is this something you can fix? I mean, reverse what the Cabal has done to me?"

Gregory looked away from the tablet screen and took a seat down next to her, stretching his bad leg out and pulling his good one up. He then placed an arm around her shoulders. "We will try our best. We need to first identity this dark fluid, then work on a way to dormant your genes again—turning them off. Do you know much about the science of microbiology?"

Ashley laughed softly. It surprised her. At least that is one thing the Cabal hadn't stolen from her. "Dude," she raised her eyes, "oh sorry, Gregory, I've been a part of Mom's work for all my life. Usually I just bag'em and tag'em but I do understand the basics of biology. Comes with the territory."

Gregory nodded his head down to her. "I do declare you are you mother's daughter. I would have expected nothing less from her." Ashley could tell his tone was full of pride and not even the years apart from her mom could have changed that. "So now we just need to figure out what is causing you to revert back into the Abnormal traits." He stopped talking and looked away and stared at the huge arched windows in front of them.

"Only if we knew what the Cabal had injected into you, besides the Source Blood. The dark fluid may be a synthetic substance, but it so unique. Even my scanners cannot identify it. This is most puzzling I have to admit. I know this is hard for you dear," he looked back at Ashley keeping a reassuring smile, "can you remember any names of the bottles, or IV bags, or anything that was around you when," he gave her a soft squeeze to the shoulder as if to comfort his next words, "when you were captured by the Cabal?" It was a question he needed to ask. So many variables could be links to the answers they both needed.

"Can you tell me anymore about the testing? Anything? Anything that could give us a lead to furthering uncovering pieces of the puzzle?"

Ashley sighed and leaned her head back onto the sofa cushion, letting her mind drift from her time with Dana to that short red haired doctor. "I'll start from the beginning." She took another deep breath and blinked her eyes hard as if to visualize the hell again.

"After me and Henry broke into Cabal Headquarters, which was way too easy by the way, we got hit by tasers. Next I remember waking up sitting in a chair and some kind of electrical platform beneath me. It let off a shock when I tested it with my foot. A woman came in after I awoke, Dana Whitcomb," she spat the words as if they were filth in her mouth. "She tried to hand me some bull shit about how mom was on the wrong side of the Abnormal cause. Cabal propaganda at its finest," Ashley raised her eyes to reflect the ridiculousness of Dana's attempts to persuade her own trust in her mom's work. "Next I drank some energy drink, at least I thought it was an energy drink," she sighed again knowing she should have thrown the drink back into Dana's face, "then I got really dizzy."

"Hmm, so let us assume the fluid you drank had properties that made you unconscious."

"Yep, must have been. Next thing I remember was waking up on a gurney. Henry was wheeling me down a hallway. We made our way to a small computer room and he hacked into the Cabal computer and downloaded some info. After he was done I called Mom and John came and teleported us back home. Then I started to feel dizzy again just a few moments after we teleported in. I vaguely remember grabbing the Source Blood glass from a table. It was in a room that Tesla and my mom where in. That is the last I remember from being home."

Ashley reached up and wiped a few tears from her eyes as she kept tight jawed, trying to keep from just screaming her anger out loud.

"Damn," she slapped a hand to the floor, "I should have jumped off that chair and just punched the bitch."

Gregory stayed silent and just let her speak her mind. He could see so much of Helen in her—the determination and will power.

Ashley could feel the anger flood through her body like a whirlwind. Her heart started to beat faster and she clenched her fists. She remembered the feeling of pure helplessness as she found herself strapped in that chair in that cold room with that short red haired scientist. She remembered the moment of twilight that echoed her mother's voice and how she had taken control of her vampiric nails as she stalked over to Doctor York. She fought with every ounce of her being to attack the woman and free herself, but in the end she could not as her body failed to react to her own thoughts in the moment she attempted to attack. The memories were so thick they were almost tangible.

"Round two had me in some Frankenstein set up. I was strapped to a chair, while a short Cabal scientist injected me through an IV. I don't remember seeing anything but needles and medical machines. I can't remember a lot of what happened. They had me sedated most of the time. I wish I could tell you more."

Gregory immediately noticed the change in her tone—deeper and focused—angry but controlled.

"It's alright dear." His voice was so gentle and comforting. Ashley had always wanted to meet her grandfather. And having found her way to him, somehow, she could see how wonderful he must have been as a father to her mom.

"Round 3 had me in a water tank."

"A water tank?"

Ashley turned her head to look at Gregory. "Yeah, I couldn't even begin to explain that one."

"That is most unusual."

"You're telling me. That was more of blur than anything. I could just make a shadow of that woman behind the glass. Flashes of light lit up behind my eyes when they were both opened and closed. It hurt too. Whatever they were doing, they had it down to the very last detail." Ashley leaned her head back into the cushion again.

"A water tank," mumbled Gregory, "that is rather pear shaped."

Ashley tilted her head to Gregory. "Exactly."

"Why do you think they put me in water?"

"My most logical hypothesis would be that the water itself may have enhanced the transformation. But I cannot think of how unless I knew more about what substances they experimented with. Ashley the only substance I cannot identify in your body is that dark fluid. Maybe that has a possible function related to the water testing."

"They also had an IV line hooked up to me. The memories are so vague." She closed her eyes. Her voice had cracked with her last words.

"I have no idea what the purpose of that was," she whispered.

Gregory could feel her body shaking under his right arm wrapped gently around her shoulders. The shock of the experience was causing a panicked reaction in Ashley. He felt it wise to no longer talk about the event for now.

"Alright Ashley, let us take a rest from this. There is something I want to show you." He slowly found his footing and stood up. "Now, I think we can take you off your fluids for now as your levels are in normal range and you have had a good rest. Do you feel like walking around a bit?"

"Yeah, that sounds awesome." Ashley emphasized the word _awesome_ as she was anxious to look around Gregory's home and take in the atmosphere of the great city—even if it was just from the window panes. She put her feet under her and pushed herself up to stand next to him. "I'm actually a little hungry too."

Gregory chuckled as he clamped the IV line closed and then pulled it free from the catheter in her arm. "Food is good. I'll make us some dinner in a few," he said with an upbeat tone. Ashley noticed his green eyes glowing with sincerity.

Ashley followed Gregory out of the large open living area and back into the large library study she had first woke up in.

"Before I left your mother's Sanctuary she gave me a picture of you both." He smiled as he led her over to the table in front of the window. She walked over and sat in the chair and looked out across to the buildings glowing like Christmas lights in the late night. Gregory opened a small side drawer and pulled out a small photo.

"Here, dear, do you remember this day?"

Ashley reached to take the photo and gave a warm smile as she recognized the picture. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Yes," her chin started to quiver with pain from being away from her family, "this was taken about five years ago. We were in Morocco."

The picture was of Helen and Ashley, both wearing white sun dresses with an array of blue and brown beaded necklaces around their necks. Yellow scarves hooded over their heads—both wrapping their arms around each other and leaning into the sides of their faces with bright smiles. She could recall the hot temperatures and the sand that was blowing wildly on the shore where they took the picture. It was just like yesterday to her. She held the picture with both hands and held tight to the moment that was captured by the photo.

A tear fell down onto the picture and Ashley smudged it away with her fingers. It was hard to look at a time before her and Henry's encounter with the Cabal, a time before the experiments, the time before the Sanctuary Network had been destroyed.

Gregory leaned against the front of the table and placed his hands on its edge.

Gregory looked down at the picture and thought back to the time he was on Helen's sofa telling her he couldn't stay with her. The very decision made him feel ill, more so now with the events surrounding the Cabal and Ashley.

"It is hard to imagine that it has been nearly three years since you and your mother found me. Looks like you and I both became the fore front of the Cabal's tactics of manipulations. I too didn't remember who I was after you all discovered me in that warehouse for the fighting Abnormals. The Cabal had made me believe I was a man named Charlie Dentin. Bloody Hell…" Gregory shook his head in disgust.

Ashley wiped the remaining tears from her face and placed the photo to the table top. "Three years? What are you talking about?"

Gregory looked at Ashley and saw her expression full of worry and confusion. "Three years ago dear. That was when I was last at Helen's Sanctuary."

"I don't understand. You left our house a little over, ah ten months ago." Ashley leaned back in the chair. Something wasn't right.

"Ashley," Gregory thought that maybe the Cabal had somehow erased some of her memories too, "alright what is the date?"

"Oct 16th 2009."

"Ashley, the date is May 2011."

* * *

><p><em>London England 1898—<em>

"James, remember what I told you. Everything you know, everything you have seen, you must not say anything. This is the only way the future can be preserved."

Helen whispered the words as James leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "You have my word Helen. And you always will." He gave her a smile as he opened the carriage door for her. Guided by his hand she stepped in and took her seat. She nodded to him, "thank you James."

He closed the door, "be safe my dear," and stepped back and stood for a few moments to watch the carriage disappear into the pre-dawn light of the morning.

The metal forged horseshoes clanked against the cobblestone as the carriage horse trotted down the street. Helen watched as James made his way back through the perimeter gate, walking his way across the small front yard of the London Sanctuary. For her, it would be the very last time she would ever see him. But to see him back in 1898, alive and thriving, had been a gift.

It had been an indescribable surreal experience to have traveled back into the past. Her past—to the hopeless romantic period of the Victorian days of old London. She had been able to step inside her old room, open her tall dresser and look and touch her old dresses again. The London Sanctuary itself even smelled the same. Not like it did now, or will; it had that rich cold stone scent but filled with a warmth that lingered down every hallway, every room, and every nook and cranny. It was a memory that even immortality could not erase.

She had said goodbye to James and now she was saying goodbye to London.

Helen sat alone, gazing out of a large window as the train departed London. The colors of dawn warmed the small cabin room she was sitting in. First class seating awarded a nice room and access to a small bar at the end of the narrow hallway. The floors of her small cabin were made of a deep maple wood. There were two black leather booth seats facing each other and a painted trim of red bordering the wood panels just under the window, about two feet up from the floor. The ceiling was too made of wood.

The crown molding was painted a shiny white and had a decorative ionic column base design within the small squares carved in at the corners of the ceiling.

Helen had only the clothes on her back, her long black leather jacket, and a small black umbrella. James had given her an immense amount of cash and had promised to wire more if need be. It was a side bar until she could find her own footing again in a time she had lived before. And will again. She trusted James with all of her being to not reveal her presence in this time. And it was her secret that he would take to the grave.

Helen pulled up her feet and tried to settle into the booth as if it was a sleeping cot. She had a long way to travel and this was just the beginning.

The train rumbled that familiar feel as the wheels circled the cast iron tracks of the railroad. The steam engine bellowed the loud call of whistles as the pressure gauges released the steam driving it along to its next destination. The mist of the steam billowed past Helen's window like a fog in the morning sun. She could hear the chimes from a church bell ringing in the distance. Helen felt like she was in dream. The sounds, the smells, the fear and elation of returning into time; there were no words or language to explain it.

The cabin smelled of maple and leather. She had taken the very train before—with James. On many occasions. She even remembered sitting in this exact cabin.

Helen stared down at the hardwood floor, analyzing the wood blanks. The same wood was found in her library in her Old City Sanctuary. She remembered having it imported from England. She always wanted to have a piece of England with her; it might as well be a part of the Sanctuary's décor.

The train continued to rumble and whistle as the steam was released from the pressure valves. The rotation of the circle wheels echoed the sound of metal clanking in rhythm as the steam engine pulsed on. The sun glared in and out of the cabin as buildings and turns leading out of town blocked the constant shine of the sun. Helen let a smile curl to her lips. If only Doc Brown could get this train up to 88 miles per hour, she could be where she needed to be in a matter of seconds.

She let out a heavy sigh.

_Can I do this alone? _

The very thought of disappearing from existence, without any, or minimal human contact was a heart wrenching thought. Life was intended to be shared by others with others. But to have a chance, however small, to bring Ashley back; Helen would walk this road of life in silence if need be.

Helen's thoughts of saving Ashley had lingered inside her mind even before she and John had left to find Adam Worth.

She let her mind drift back to their mother and daughter trip to Morocco and how the way of life and culture there was represented by the words, 'Never forfeit your principles.' It was a phrase that Helen and Ashley had held close to their hearts.

_Never forfeit your principles._

The very phrase was like a stab to her heart. She wanted to forget that the meaning was more prevalent now than ever before.

But—

Helen placed those words aside—buried them far into the back of her mind and away from her heart.

She had done something no one knew she had.

Her iPhone.

James had tossed it into the fire to incinerate any chance the technology would be discovered. But Helen had removed something before he did.

The Sim card.

It wasn't just any Sim card. Henry had designed it for Sanctuary purposes only. It held more information that even the military could with their present day technology. Before Henry and her Sanctuary team had returned from Hollow Earth he had swiped one of the data information drives from a tech room he had been given access to. He then back engineered the storage device and made it compatible to the iPhone they used. This way the small Sim card could hold an incredible amount of stored data.

They really hadn't found a use for the high storage capabilities until now. Before Helen left to search for Adam with John, she secretly transferred all data from the day Ashley teleported into the Sanctuary and the info on Henry's work done to contact Ranna via a slow wave signal band. She also downloaded all information about the Hollow Earth device that was placed on Will's head to uncover his memories from his encounter with Kali in the afterlife. And last, all information discovered from the Time Node that Adam used when she and he battled out their personal war in the empty building.

She reached in her pocket of her leather coat and pulled out a small pocket watch. It was one of her father's. The very one, that for some reason, had mysteriously disappeared from the London Sanctuary in 1898.

She had placed the small Sim card inside the casing—a secret and safe place for keeping for now. She started to desensitize herself from the possible outcomes of her actions in wanting to save Ashley. If she could pull this off it would be the easy part—for the hardest part would be consoling Ashley from the emotional turmoil that she had endured while under the control of the Cabal and repairing the genetic experiments done to her. Helen let tears pour from her eyes as she quietly imagined seeing Ashley again, and holding her daughter alive in her arms.

Now she only had two things to do.

Wait 113 years to implement her plan.

And wait 113 years to convince Nikola to help her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hollow Earth was oblivious to the massive threat that was on countdown by the hands of Adam Worth. He had been planning his mission to save his beloved for as long as he could remember.

He had assimilated all the details, protocols, and patterns of the city to aid him in preparing and following through with his plans. Imogene had been his life and his death. The Jackal and the Hyde.

Adam had lost all sense of humanity—blinded by the second voice inside that had turned his heart numb to the world.

It would not be long until his plan would release him from a life without his daughter.

Adam Worth walked the streets of Praxis this night. A man on a mission that would soon unravel.

"Ey my Imogene," Adam spoke aloud to himself as if his words could be carried across time to his once living daughter, "I'm coming for you darlin. I won't be much longer. Then we'll have the world at our fingertips. Ours for the taking." His accent echoed the quiet street. He too recognized the city's architecture as an aristocratic futuristic London. Who knew the man that saw the design of the city in the same way was living on the very street Adam was walking on.

Gregory would never know how close he was to foiling his plans.

It had only been a few months ago Gregory had spoken with Helen here in Hollow Earth, but there time was short. Ranna had spared them and Helen could not risk staying longer as the discovery of her team alive would warrant great repercussions. Helen didn't even have the time to tell her own father she had lost her only daughter.

Ashley jumped up from the chair.

"What! What are you talking about Gregory? What are you saying?"

"My dear the year is 2011." He said in a confused panic.

"That's impossible!" Ashley paced back and forth in front of the arched windows of the library.

"Ashley I can assure you, it is the year 2011." Gregory was as confused as Ashley was. This puzzle was becoming a lot more complex than before.

"Then how the hell did I forget two years of my life!" Ashley's voice was shaky and unhinged. She let one hand fall to her stomach as she paced in disbelief.

"Two years! Gregory I've been gone for two damn years!"

"Ashley we will figure this out."

"How!" Ashley's heart was nearly about to beat out of her chest. "I was just at the Sanctuary. I just teleported out of there."

Gregory sat down in the chair and attempted to think of plausible reasons for her not recalling the order of time.

"Ashley maybe the Cabal had you under their control for a lot longer than you know."

Ashley stopped pacing and turned to face him.

"What do you mean? Like after I teleported out with the Source Blood you think they had me imprisoned for two years?" She was nearly out of breath from the anger and fear of just possibly learning two years had disappeared from her memory—her life.

"It could be one possibility Ashley."

"Ugggh!" Ashley placed her palms on the sides of her cheeks and let her eyes fall to the glowing buildings beyond the window panes. "So this means that two years after I was captured by the Cabal, I was then set out to destroy my mom's Sanctuaries? That doesn't make sense."

"I don't know my dear. If that is true the testing they were doing must have been a slow process."

"A slow process? God Gregory I don't even know if my family survived." She hadn't given that idea a chance to manifest in her soul. Until this very moment. "There were more like me that followed me into the Sanctuary."

Ashley instantly felt herself become nauseous with the thought that maybe her last attempt to save her mom was a failure. That another one just like her had killed her mom just moments later.

Ashley started to wail away with sobs and heavy tears. It nearly took the life out of her.

"Gregory my mom could be dead!" She bent down and grabbed her knees straining to keep herself from collapsing to the floor. "They could have killed my mom. I could have killed my mom." Tears slipped from her eyes leveling off their watery trails down her chin. She watched the clear sadness fall down onto the wooden floor boards.

Ashley then quickly noticed red drops mixing with the salt of anguished emotions; she hadn't even realized her Vampiric nails had punctured the skin around her knees. "Oh crap!"

"Oh god this can't be happening. No, no, no." Ashley felt like she was about to hyperventilate. It was getting harder to breathe and her sight started to fade to black as her peripheral vision blended into a black haze." She released her grip from the flesh of her knees and leaned back up to steady herself upright—slowly swaying back without control.

Gregory got up from his chair and reached for his walking stick he had placed to the side of the desk.

"Ashley, please calm down. Your body is reacting to stress triggers." He slowly hobbled over to her, warily still not knowing what she was capable of. That is why he had decided to keep a small stunner gun in his vest pocket. Just in case. But then again, the weapon hadn't been designed by Nikola Tesla, the only one that had found a way to shatter the complexities of the super Ashley gang. And sadly enough, one that would not temporarily neutralize the Source Blood properties.

Ashley's body continued to slowly lean backwards as her head rolled along the spine of her neck, losing her conscious hold to the world.

Gregory was just making his way over and realized he would not be able to reach her in time to keep her body from crashing to the floor.

"Ashley!" he yelled.

With a wisp of cold air, and a flash of red flare, she disappeared.

* * *

><p><em>Lyon France, 1898—<em>

Helen had been grateful to James. He had arranged a new passport and identification papers for her. Helen's new identity would only be used as a last resort as a way to survive the laws for the next 113 years. It deemed a relevant precaution. Helen Magnus would now be known as Michelle Heathering. Heathering was her mother's maiden name, and Michelle was a title song by her favorite band of all time, The Beatles.

Helen had lost track of how many train stations she had connected with and how many trains she had boarded. Or how many hours she had spent sitting and sleeping inside her train cabins. She had changed her mind countless times on where she would settle for the time being. The world was so big. It was a wonder why, out of so many places, she couldn't narrow them down.

It was just after midnight as she checked the time on the pocket watch. She hadn't been able to sleep much the last few days. Or eaten much. Such was her routine when her life got busy or ripped at the seams. Literally.

She sat with her head resting back on the wood paneled wall behind her. Her neck cradled where the soft black leather ended and the wood wall began. She had drawn the white curtains closed and as always, had locked the cabin door. Two small black iron lantern-like light fixtures each held a tiny light bulb, lighting the cabin from the corners of the ceiling on the side of the window. The small lights lit the room giving just enough light for comfort.

Helen sighed as she ran her thumb over the front glass of her father's silver pocket watch. The initials G.M. were etched in the center of the back casing. The watch had been a gift from James.

She slowly watched as the small second hand ticked away as she listened to the faint clicking sound. She now knew how the pocket watch had disappeared back then—this very year of 1898. It was she who had taken it. Her returning to the past was like a fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Gregory was dumbfounded that he never found the watch. He had undoubtedly believed he had either lost it on his many travels or had simply misplaced it somewhere in the endless spaces of the London Sanctuary.

_It was me who took it Father. _

The realization was almost comical—but most intriguing. She wished she could share the amazing truth with James. Explain that she had finally found the reason why the watch had disappeared. She had taken it. Or rather at the time, her future self had taken it. Such impossibilities were too extraordinary. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have gone mad trying to write a story on this very predicament.

Helen smiled as she placed the pocket watch back into a deep pocket of her coat. At least she knew she was walking the path of Fate somehow. She had taken the pocket watch, which was the first sign she was on the right path of events. If there was even a path to take.

Helen brushed away a few bangs that had fallen astray over her eyes and let her mind try to remember a more joyous time from her past. For it was now two years since her and Will had crashed in the oil rig off the Gulf Coast.

This reminded her.

_Today is Ashley's birthday._

Magnus had chosen not to learn the sex of her child. She wanted it to be a complete surprise, but found it very interesting that she had a dream around her third month of pregnancy that she would have a girl. She had dreamed she was holding her newborn in her arms, fierce white blonde hair and big blue eyes staring back at her; a warm gentle smile upon her little face.

It is a wonder how tiny a baby could be—how precious the life of your only child is. Ashley had been a mini Magnus, looking almost exactly as Helen did in her baby pictures. Helen had been surprised on how fast Ashley had grown up. Within the blink of an eye she was crawling, standing, walking, running, and blowing stuff up with Henry on their outings to wherever they'd go to test his new weapons. Helen always knew when they had gone out to fire off rounds or shoot from the big guns; the lingering smell of gun powder and earth would fill the elevator and every hallway they would walk down when they returned home.

She would have preferred them test Henry's prototype weapons in the safety of the Sanctuary's armored wing, but the world outside was their calling for fun.

"God," she sobbed the word as she fought against that throat tightening feeling that accompanied painful heavy sobs, "I miss you Ashley." Helen choked back the pain as she cupped her face in her hands, "I miss you so much. So much."

In the silence of her train cabin, alone with no one to comfort her, she just cried as life and time continued on, never stopping to let a broken heart find a place to rest.

She had remembered how Biggie had come into her room bringing Ashley in after James and the London Sanctuary team of doctors checked her over after she was born.

Biggie didn't have dreads back then, just a small afro-like do—much tamer for him than during the mid 1970's. Helen hadn't been the only one who had to keep up with the fashions of decades past and present.

She remembered how the Big Guy brought Ashley into her room, gently placing her in her arms, and how Ashley's little soft head was supported by her close embrace. Helen had been amazed at how intuitive those bright blue eyes were. She remembered crying tears of joy while looking down, finally after what seemed like an eternity, at her baby daughter. She couldn't formulate any words. Just sobs of joy, tears of happiness.

She lowered her head to kiss Ashley on her tiny forehead. Her forehead was warm to the touch and soft and Ashley had actually smiled as Helen rested her own forehead on hers. She was a mother and that new feeling interlacing around her heart; perhaps the Oxford Dictionary could never find words to define it.

_I have a daughter._

Helen tried her best to contain her excitement and flooding emotions of seeing Ashley, her tiny miracle daughter smiling inches from her tear soaked face—but sobs and tears aplenty just poured continuously from her immortal blue eyes.

"Ashley Emilie Magnus my darling," whispered Helen as she cradled the small fragile head of her baby. "Welcome to the world."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The bullet shot from the silencer ripped through the mid portion of Ashley' shoulder with such power it forced her off balance sending her body plummeting down into the gritty sand of the damp riverbed.

As her body arched down into an awkward spiral her eyes caught sight of Dead Bridge glimmering its rust and age through the blinding white haze that filled her head and blue eyes. She was utterly stunned to hear the shot ring out from behind her.

The right side of her face smashed into the hard gravel, tossing up white dust and finite gravel as she crumbled down to the ground. The impact knocked the wind from her stomach causing an involuntary bend into the fetal position. The pain from the bullet wound shot through the bottom of her collar bone like a piercing fire and shortly after the initial sting she could feel her right arm go numb. She turned her face into the damp thick sand and screamed her agony into the cold ground. A blurred memory flashed in white light of her in the study of the London Sanctuary—John inches from her face driving a sharp silver blade straight through her chest. She yelled out again as the memory echoed across her mind and tore through her heart.

She remembered the second of clarity as her blue eyes met his—her father's. She had felt the sadness and deep guilt and had tried everything to gain control of her own body; willing it to stop attacking forward. But had failed and her short lapse into lucidity faded away into a dark place that the Cabal had forced upon her. She didn't blame John. He was defending the lives of the UK Sanctuary—and the life of her mother.

The loud British voice repeated his words from 40 yards behind her, "you are trespassing on private property. I will shoot again. Do not attempt to flee!" Declan was holding his gun with two hands aiming at her location from a few feet from the back entrance of the Sanctuary's stone perimeter wall. He came to a standstill after having run through the doorway of the cast iron dock entrance now creaking loudly as the gate flung back hard against the gray stone wall. Declan was a good shot, but even at this location, anyone could have been lucky.

"Did you hit her?" yelled out as Will came running in from behind him breathless—his blue eyes wide with the anticipation of the chase.

The two men stood looking out to the river dock just a few feet from the perimeter's back stone wall of the Old City Sanctuary.

"Yes mate, and she's a fast one."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Will bent down to rest a hand on his knees trying to force any ounce of air back into his lungs.

"Where," a heavy gasp exhaled from Will's chest, "Ahh, where the hell, did she come from?"

Declan kept a close eye on the figure still lying down on the ground. He started to walk slowly towards her direction. "I haven't a clue. Henry radioed me and said someone was using a network computer down in the sublevel labs and was trying to access Magnus' medical records. When I got down there the room was empty but the door to the back exiting corridor was open. I had assumed the intruder took the back way out. So I followed. That's when I saw her exiting the last entrance door."

"Yeah, Henry said you radioed it was a female leaving the premises. And I double checked, all guests have been accounted for."

"Maybe one of them let her in?" Declan questioned.

"Highly doubtful, Henry's been watching the guests since they were ordered to come here." Will straightened his posture back, checking the clip of his gun again as he took a deep breath.

"You didn't have to shoot her." Will huffed.

Declan glanced at Will keeping his face expression tight with authority, "I had no choice Will she was armed and had fired a shot at me as she made her way outside. She could be some kind of rogue threat—especially with Magnus' current condition."

"Damn, I didn't know she had a weapon."

"Nor did I."

Will was a communicator and not a fighter. And if he had been the one to follow Ashley out of the back of the Sanctuary he would have dictated his words aloud as he ran after her. Making every attempt at a peaceful surrender.

"Why do you think she targeted Magnus' med files?"

"Probably for the same reasons we are. Magnus is head of the Sanctuary Network, and her inability to act as Head in her current state would have many people question why. She may be part of a third party unbeknownst to us."

"A mole within the Network. But why? All Sanctuary Heads have been notified of the present situation."

"Well hold on to your knickers mate, hopefully she'll be willing to talk."

"Let's hope." Will rasped

"Alright let's go bring her back so we can find out what she's doing here. Radio Henry and let him know we have an incoming medical emergency."

Will pulled his radio from the back pocket of his blue jeans and relayed their situation to Henry was he followed Declan slowly and cautiously across the river bed to the fallen body.

Ashley slid her upper torso away from her knees and painfully rolled herself over to her knees. As she dragged her left hand in the sand to balance her weight, she saw that her black nails were exposed, etching lines into the sand.

"Damn it," she wheezed through her clenched teeth.

She found her footing and rolled over into an awkward crouching position, stomach facing the ground. She coughed hard and spat bright red blood from her mouth.

She squeezed her eyes tight as a sharp pain cascaded through her chest. "Ah crap," she whined in a gasping breath. _Bullet must have grazed my lung._ She groaned a long sigh as she struggled to push her body to her feet. When she did, she swayed forward but planted her left foot firmly to keep the off balanced weight from throwing her back to the ground.

"Stop!"

She heard Declan yell out behind her. She didn't turn around to look at him.

She forced her body to run against the pain as she took off and headed to a large shipping container resting near the base of the concrete supporting beams mounted on the shoreline. The large slabs of concrete were used to prevent the water vessels from running aground on land and the low sand bars as they took harbor behind the Sanctuary.

Ashley kept her left hand pressed hard to the draining wound in the right corner of her chest, carefully positioning her fingers so she wound not pierce the skin with her long black nails. She seethed in grimaces as she pushed herself to keep taking each blood curling step to get out of the eyeshot of Declan. She knew he wouldn't shoot again. He was always more willing to take in a wounded captive than a dead one.

Or at least she hoped he still believed in that motto and the fact that she had left the gun on the ground where she had fallen.

_Why am I still bleeding?_

If there was one clear thing she remembered from being under the control of the Cabal, it was her remarkable ability to heal fast. But right now, her body wasn't showing any progress in healing itself quickly.

Her vision started to become hazy with every painful step as the bright sunlight from overhead slowly began to dim in its intensity through her narrowing field of vision. As she staggered forward she could hear Declan's calls become more distant, almost like an echo. If she could just make it behind the large metal container, she might be able to will herself to vanish without a trace.

* * *

><p><strong>One hour previous<strong>

The first sounds Ashley heard as she woke were the distant chirping of birds. The little sounds filled the air and stirred her to open her eyes. She was met by a blinding ray of light casting down over her through a thick glass window behind her. She blinked opened her eyes and found herself laying on her side on a cold marbled floor—tall shiny marbled walls standing all around her. This place was familiar.

_The Sanctuary Mausoleum._

She pushed herself slowly over so she could lie on her back. She heard a small wheeze from her lungs as she inhaled a much needed deep breath. She blinked her eyes a few times to focus her vision and stared at the arched ceiling and let her eyes follow up from the corner of the ceiling and onto the dark wooden beams arching into the steeple point of its roof. Ashley rubbed her eyes and forehead head then quickly pulled her hands from her face to look at her fingertips. She noticed that her Vampiric nails had retraced.

She tried to remember what happened—where she had just been. Slowly the scene unfolded in her mind and she remembered she was confused and yelling out in fear at Gregory. She remembered bending over and watching blood drops drip from her black pants leg and onto the floor.

_What the hell is going on with me?_

She then pushed herself up to a sitting position and checked the wounds on her knees from the nails that had cut into the flesh just before she had teleported out of Gregory's residence. She fingered through the small rips in the black fabric on the sides and front area of the knee. She analyzed the skin underneath, dried blood clung to the skin, but no scratches or punctures were visible. The wounds had healed but with slightly visible scars.

_Okay? This I remember—my body healing incredibly fast. _Ashley didn't know if this was a good thing or bad thing.

She nearly jumped to her feet as her mental thought process had been delayed from the shock of waking someplace familiar.

_I'm home?_

She let the emotions flood in along with not knowing what was truly going on with her. _Teleporting was John's thing. And now it's mine? Permanently? _

"Okay Ashley think," she said aloud as she put her hands to her forward to try and grasp why she was randomly teleporting—and randomly through time. "First time I teleported I was thinking of Gregory. Second time my last thoughts were of mom. So, if I think of someone I can teleport to them?"

It had to be the answer. But she had been thinking of her mom ever since she found herself down in Praxis and she had never jumped this close to her before now.

She could feel her heart racing as fast as the memories and questions flashed across her mind. She wanted to run out of the mausoleum screaming out to her mom as she raced across the Sanctuary's lawn. But her thoughts froze when she noticed a marbled coffin to her right. It was out of place. If didn't belong. She knew this because this very space used to be empty. She had used this as her home base when she and Henry would have paintball wars in the yard. This open space and adjoining window used to be her 'sniper's lookout' almost ten years ago.

Footsteps shuffling on the marbled staircase caught her attention. She was contemplating on running towards it but immediately stopped as she noticed fresh flowers on the top of the marbled coffin, and the words inscribed on the front base; Our Beloved Old Friend. May You Rest In Peace. November 20th, 2009.

Ashley's heart broke.

_Old Friend? That is what mom used to call Biggie._

_The Big Guy's dead?_

The footsteps continued to come closer and as Ashley was about to make her way to hide behind the marbled coffin she noticed a few dried blood smears on the marble floor from her once bleeding knees.

_Crap!_

She bent down and quickly wiped the smears of blood with the outer side of her long sleeve. The small blood spatters removed with little effort as Ashley rubbed hard to leave no trace of them ever being there. Her heart was telling her to run to the footsteps but she was still unnerved from teleporting and found it safer to let her emotions settle before making any effort of going to the person walking near or going inside to her own home.

Ashley then quietly ran barefoot, jumping over the small platform step that cradled the coffin and made her way over to the window and leaned her back against the cold marbled coffin. She stayed completely still as she listened as the footsteps became louder and louder as they came nearer to her position. Then the footsteps stopped.

She held her breath and closed her eyes. She had just found out she had lost two years of her life. And she feared for what unknowns could be unraveling now.

She listened intently as she heard a rustling of clothes. She figured whomever it was just had sat down near the coffin.

Shortly after, quiet sobs came from the other side.

"I don't know how this happened Big Guy."

_Henry._

_Oh god Henry is alive._

Ashley's memories were a blurred haze in the time she had teleported in the sublevel with the other super abnormals. So much of the memories were flashes of incoherent audible and order less visual images of unrecognized faces. But at the same time they had felt familiar. Hearing Henry's voice filled her heart with contentment knowing he had not died in the attack from the other super Abnormals, but more importantly, by her hands. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks with this realization.

"I just know Magnus is not responsible. She didn't kill you." The low muffled sobs continued.

Ashley started to cry even harder as the words broke her heart.

_Mom is alive_.

Ashley continued to sit as still as she could. Biggie had been like a father to her—and to Henry. She started to cry herself and placed her hands to her mouth to keep from exposing any loud sob that would reveal where she was. The tears drained over her fingers and into her mouth. She started to realize maybe she really was teleporting through time—with no destination in mind.

Henry had smelled the remnants of blood on his way up to the second floor but only contributed it to the Big Guy. After all, he had been shot multiple times. And with his HAP senses even when blood isn't visually present, he can tell the vicinity in which it lingered.

"I will find out what's going on Big Guy. I promise you," Henry's voice cracked as his heart was filled with sorrow and confusion, "We all will. Will is working on it right now. He's trying to," he paused to catch his breath in a loud rumbled inhale, "he's trying to find out what's wrong with Magnus—why she's lost her memory and losing her mental stability."

It took Ashley less than a second for her to focus that maybe immortality had effects that could deteriorate the mind. She thought maybe that was what had happened to John.

Her thoughts raced and bled together as she tried to make sense of the Source Blood being the cause of this. Maybe teleporting was the reason why John went mad and was left barely being able to control his actions. Perhaps the Source Blood slowly took away one's humanity. Perhaps like a form of dementia? And her mother having transported with John all those years ago...

She had to find a way to get over to the Sanctuary—to get to her mother.

Just then she heard another set of footsteps softly making their way onto the second level via the staircase.

"Kate," whispered Henry.

The name echoed lightly in the spaces around them.

_Who the hell is Kate?_

A few moments later the other set of footsteps made their way over then stopped on the other side of the coffin.

A voice unrecognized to Ashley spoke softly to Henry.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Is he uh?"

"Yeah, we moved him over an hour ago. He always said he wanted to be laid to rest here on the grounds."

"It looks nice. You did a good job. Will's back. He wants to see us."

"Can you tell him to wait a bit?"

Kate kept her voice low as she spoke, "He says it's important. Something about Article 9."

"What?"

Henry's face flushed red with anger and frustration as he nearly jumped to his feet. With a heavy sigh he started to head for the stairs. Kate ran after him in silence.

Ashley kept still and leaned her head back against the hard stone, tears blanketing her face as she quietly listened to the footsteps fade into quiet.

_Article 9? That protocol was put in place to delegate a new Head of House if mom can no longer function as head of the Sanctuary._

Ashley pulled the front neckline of her black long sleeve shirt and wiped the tears from her face. She continued to sit still trying to find a reason why she had teleported a second time. Not to mention the first time.

The first call to mystery was the fact that she knew the Sanctuary was equipped with a highly sensitive EM Shield. And she was shocked to realize that she had just teleported through it on the grounds of the very home it was made to protect. Not even John had that much power. She closed her eyes and kept her head back against the marbled coffin. The sun through the window lit up her face and she welcomed the warmth as she attempted to find logical reasons why she was even alive and sitting where she was. But she only found herself asking more questions than finding answers.

Soft unreadable voices spoke aloud outside as Henry and Kate conversed as they ran across the greens to the front of the Sanctuary. Ashley was overwhelmed by it all. She had learned at least that some of her family was alive. She had heard Henry's voice and that had filled her heart with joy. But the news of her mother's demise had nearly taken the life from her body. This proved that she had survived her encounter at the sublevel.

_Mom._

Without warning Ashley was consumed in a flash of red flare and came crashing down into hardwood floor. Her shoulder took the brunt as she grunted and rolled over with the impact. She was in a small room. A room she had been in before. She was inside the Sanctuary.

Ashley looked up from her knees and saw a figure huddled near the back wall. Her mom was sitting, back against the wall and knees pulled to her chest, staring at her with wide eyes.

Ashley senses overwhelmed her. Tears pooled her eyes and escaped as she slowly stood up.

Helen just stared. Her arms were folded and resting on the tops of her knees—her blue eyes distant and expression somber. Her fingers scrunched at her gray long sleeve that she had pulled over her wrists into the palms of her hands. She rolled the fabric through the tips of her fingers as she kept her silent stare.

Ashley immediately noticed her mother's behavior wasn't normal. It scared her to the core. A shiver trembled through her body as she lowered her hands to her side as she walked nearer.

"Mom," she whispered calmly and slowly, "it's me. It's Ashley." Ashley smiled wide trying to control the quivering of her chin and mouth. Her words chocked as she spoke. But at the same time she was suppressing the urge to just full out run into her arms. But Helen didn't raise them for an embrace. Nor did she even acknowledge her standing there.

Helen didn't answer. Her body stayed still unflinching to the very presence of her own daughter.

Ashley knelt down in front of Helen, afraid of touching her arm or even her hand not knowing what her reaction would be.

Helen leaned her head close to Ashley's and stared deeper into Ashley's blue eyes.

"They say I killed my oldest friend." She whispered the words with a lethargic and unfocused expression.

Ashley so wanted to grab her mom into a hug knowing that she was alive right in front of her—knowing that the super abnormals hadn't killed her.

"God," Ashley cried, "Mom, please. Can you hear me? I'm Ashley your daughter." Ashley raised her hand from her right side to try and place it to her mother's shoulder, but Helen winced and leaned back into the wall.

"They are all against me," Helen said—her voice angered and louder than before. "They planned this, all of this. They killed my oldest friend. They are trying to frame me."

In a low concerned voice Ashley answered back. "Who are you talking about mom?" Ashley sat the rest of the way down, sitting indian-style in front of her mother.

"Declan and the others," Helen turned away from her to stare at the wall to her right.

"Mom, you are not making any sense. Why would they want to frame you?"

Helen sighed and shook her head continuously, and leaned her hand against the wall to help her to her feet.

"You are dead Ashley!" Helen shouted as she paced across the room and slapped the palm of her hand repeatedly against her forehead. "They probably killed you too!"

Ashley shot up from her feet and walked over to her mom, arms out in front of her. "Mom please calm down and sit down. Talk to me."

Ashley watched helpless as Helen paced in circles between the couch and the two chairs opposite her, oblivious to her words. Helen darted right to left without even glancing back to Ashley. Helen mumbled low as if the thoughts racing through her unstable mind were all but unpronounceable slurs.

Helen then shouted again as she turned and walked right up to Ashley's face. "Why did you leave me? Why! Why Ashley! I loved you so much…" Helen stood inches from Ashley's face. Incoherent tears released from the rim of Helen's eyes, her mind void of sense and any hint of cognitive thought.

Ashley's face fell into a sobbing frown. "Mom, I didn't leave you. I'm right here. I know you,…" she hiccupped a deep uncontrolled sob and searched for any kind of recognition from within her mother's blue eyes, "I know you are not understanding anything of what's going on, but I am alive." Ashley reached out to gently touch Helen's shoulder. Helen watched intently as Ashley raised her hand to her.

Helen blinked, then turned around and walked away from her to stand in the corner of the wall behind her. "You are a ghost," she cried softly, "you are not alive anymore. You left me alone."

Ashley covered her face with her hands, pressing hard to her jaw and mouth to keep the pain from exploding into unrelenting sobs. She stepped back and tried to take a breath in, but struggled to do so.

She started to think of what evidence could prove the deterioration of Helen's condition and someplace that would allow her access away from the goings on of the Sanctuary. She would have no progress with her mom in the current state she was in now nor find any answers.

_The sublevel computer room._

She closed her eyes only to open them again to find herself standing in the sublevel in front of a computer screen.

The drop in temperature gave a shiver up her spine. The sublevel had always been at least ten degrees colder than the rest of the Sanctuary. The cold stone and depth beneath the earth carried with it the environment. The habitats had been modified and equipped with cooling and heating ducts but the huge open space of the sublevel had always remained colder.

Ashley eyed the computer screen. Images flickered across the screen of the inner and outer perimeters of the Sanctuary. She clicked a few buttons and the home page came into view. It was a sepia picture of the front of the Sanctuary that had a faded border into black around the frame. She scrolled down on the screen until she found the names of every member of the household viewed in a small red rectangular text box. She double clicked Helen.

As she read over the information presented in the linked rectangular pop up screen she had choices to send direct message to pager, send text message, send email, call phone, emergency intercom.

"Damn," she sighed. "I'm gone two years and the whole freaking system has been changed." The old system had an array of links to click on, one being patient records. She bit her lip then clicked back to the home page. She clicked again with the mouse to a blank box at the top of right corner of the page. She tapped the keypad keying in the words Helen Magnus Medical Files.

Another red box linked up into the middle of the screen. 'Password Required'.

Ashley whispered softly to herself as she organized her thoughts aloud. "Okay, last time you gave me your password to your files in case of any emergency it was," Ashley typed each word with hope that the password was still the same, "Nos must amitto vivo en."

A dull beep echoed twice.

'Access Denied' blinked in red.

"Uh damn it," she hissed angrily.

"Come on Ashley think... what would be your new password mom?"

"…Nubbins"

Beep beep.

"Nautilus."

Beep beep.

"Rhapsody in Blue."

Beep beep.

"Sergeant Pepper…"

Beep beep.

"Bloody hell." She let a small smile bleed her features as she typed that one.

Beep beep.

"Damn it..." Ashley was getting so frustrated with the blinking of 'Access Denied' that she started to feel that familiar twinge in her nails return.

_Calm down_ Ashley she told herself. She forced in a deep breath and let in out slow, closing her eyes. She listened as the air exited her lungs with a soft whoosh of air. She drew another breath in and peeked to look at her fingers as she slowly and quietly breathed out again. The nails retracted back into the nail bed.

Ashley's adrenaline spiked.

_That was good._

A wave of confidence fled over her. This could be the start of her actually controlling her own demons. Gregory had said stress was causing the altered genes to surface. So now she would really have to focus to continue and try to keep a grip, however unstable and short lived it may be.

She was at a loss to guess any other password combination and decided that she had no choice but to move on to plan B. If she couldn't find a way to look through her records she couldn't risk staying any longer in fear of being caught and potentially destroying time. Even Ashley had read H.G. Wells.

She thought it better to leave now and try and return to Gregory. She didn't understand what was unraveling around her and it scared her. But only Helen really was aware of the repercussions of medaling with time. And Ashley had no idea events had been in a domino effect before she had even been born to try and save her own life. Only Helen had the answers she was searching for. And if the events played out as Helen had planned, and meticulously put in place, perhaps one day she could tell them to Ashley face to face.

Will stood inside Helen's security locked room explaining that soon Helen would lose control of her Sanctuary and Declan McCrea would stand in as head of the Old City Sanctuary.

"You can't let them do this to me." Helen retorted frantically.

"We're doing everything we can to get you out of here," insisted Will, "Henry is pulling out all the stops. Kate is talking to—"

"No, you don't understand. They're all out to get me!"

"Who?" Will asked confused.

Helen paced over near Will pointing out a finger as she yelled, "Declan, and the other one, what's his name, Scofield. They're working together."

"How do you know?"

"Isn't it obvious? Will they're trying to kill me!"

Helen walked away from Will to a small table behind her. "Look. Look at this this." Helen brings her tray of food over to Will to inspect. "It's poison. Smell it. Smell it! They're going to destroy everything. Ashley told me."

Will put the food tray down on a small side table. "Magnus this has nothing to do with Ashley."

"They killed her too! They killed my daughter!"

Ashley reached down under Henry's work station to see if he still kept a 9mm under for emergencies. She slid her hand under the metal table and connected with the firearm.

"That's my Henry." She smiled as she pulled the gun free.

_Just some added insurance._

With Helen losing control of the Sanctuary who knew if the security protocols were even still in place. Not to mention, active. Ashley had to find a secure and safe path out of the Sanctuary if nothing else. And hope no habitats had been left unsecured in the process.

"Back entrance," she mumbled to herself.

She peeked out of the open section of Henry's small tech room and glanced into the open area of the sublevel. No one was present.

She then turned to her left in the opened space of the small tech lab and ran across the cold distance to a doorway of two heavy wood oak doors arching at the dark end of the large wide sublevel corridor.

Unknowingly Sally had swum over and placed her hand to the clear view boundary of her glass enclosure. Her tail swished and large blue marine eyes widened as recognition of familiarity echoed close by. She couldn't be sure, but it was either Helen or another she had known all her life. She could feel the faint fragile and erratic emotions echoing from the unknown person. Odd thought Sally, she almost let herself believe it was Ashley.

Henry's computer beeped in a small armory room as he tapped at his keyboard. A sequence of code ran down in a square formatted box. Henry grabbed his radio. "Declan it's Henry. Someone is trying to access Magnus' medical files from my sublevel computer lab."

"I'm on my way."

By the time Declan was out of the elevator and running across the open base of the subterranean level, all signs of the hacker were gone. As he approached the computers he noticed that one of the two large wooden doors at the end of the open corridor was opened.

Declan clicked his radio. "Whoever was just here has taken the back entrance corridor. I am in pursuit."

A burst of static rang through the walkie, "Copy that."

Ashley had reached the end of the damp stone low ceiling exit way and found herself standing before another pair of large wooden doors.

Years ago when carriages were the modern fashions of the times, these large wooden doors would serve as entry ways for cargo and such. Helen was nostalgic of earlier times and had never once thought to replace the antediluvian doors.

Ashley lifted the heavy iron latch and eased it loose from the horizontal rest it was secured on. This door could only be opened from the inside.

Ashley then pushed the right door open and was instantly bathed in bright sunlight. She winced her eyes as the rays encompassed her.

Ashley knew there was a camera feed up to her left that had views to the back of the Sanctuary. She slowly leaned out and aimed the gun at the protruding security device.

With one shot the metal and glass exploded and shattered in shards to the ground.

Declan had seen the burst of daylight from the end of the tunnel. A gun shot blast echoed loudly and traveled down the dimly lit stone corridor as if sounds of thunder had rang through.

Declan mistakenly thought the lone woman at the end was shooting at him. He grabbed his gun from his waist belt and started to run.

Ashley ran across the deep green yard and made her way to the cast iron door that was the exit and entry way from the riverbed harbor behind the Sanctuary. Declan followed.

_I can't believe he shot me, _Ashley's mind screamed as her eyes flashed white with pain. She was just a few feet from the large transport container and the edges of her vision were almost completed black.

As she staggered in behind the container she concentrated every last ounce of strength to muddle groggily the name Gregory and picture his face.

As her body fell into an unconscious heap downward a flash of red flare lit up the space around her.

Gregory nearly fell out of his chair with the loud thump that crashed onto his library's hardwood floor.

Ashley had returned to him.

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><p>Author's note: HenryKate and Will/Helen's dialogue were both excerpts from Season 2's Episode Veritas. I loved how Magnus had mentioned Ashley in that episode and thought it rather cool to try and work around those events into this chapter and my story direction. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you would like for me to continue please let me know as reviews are most appreciated. Thank you. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: I would like to thank Mysticwolf613, Samisim, magnus38, FullMoonOcean and Feyfangirl for your time in reviewing my story and to those that have Alerted/Favorited my story as well. It is a struggle just to create each chapter, but I try hard to make it worth your time. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. Thank you. :)

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

The high elevation hilltop valleys of Vienna Austria were frigid and achingly breathtaking in the winter months. The ice storms and harsh winters of Austria all but froze the spirit of Helen Magnus.

Grey smoke billowed in inorganic clouds from the brick chimney protruding from the darkly colored thatched roof. Cream, gray, and white slate stone grated the outside walls of the small house overlooking the vast expanse of mountains and white rolling hills in the distance. Snow blanketed the dense forest and thick gleaming icycles coated the bare branches of the once full green trees around Helen's home.

Evening was slowly descending into the orange and violet sky and Helen was curled up on her small, pale yellow colored couch, sipping tea and staring at the twisting bright flames of the chimney's fire.

Helen held the small white tea cup with both hands and rested the little cup on the top of her knees. Her white lamb's wool sweater kept her comfortably warm under her hand knitted white blanket she had made herself. The color and knitted style was exactly like the one she had made as Ashley's first baby blanket.

She let her gaze fall from the raging orange fire to the small mahogany coffee table in the center of the large open living area. A huge glass window half the size of a wall gave a clear view of the large frozen river that channeled through the quiet landscape about fifty yards from her home. The small window frames were of a deep cherry color as were the wood floors of her home.

She had chosen a place far from civilization, far from people, and far away from the bustling events of time. All were interconnected; all had ripple effects that would echo through eternity. And she would make every effort to stand clear of it.

Until the moment she would put her plan in effect.

James had given her enough money to live off comfortably for a while. She also had a bank account active at the London City bank. And James would wire a certain amount of money to it every year. She could access the account from wherever she pleased. It was a gesture that from her point of view, wouldn't make a dent into the ripple of time.

Helen took another sip of her hot tea, licked her lips and reached over and placed the tea cup on the wooden coffee table. She picked up the pocket watch from beside her cup and nestled back into the crook of the arm rest and back cushion. She gently opened the silver back casing of the watch. Inside revealed a small blue square Sim Card. She stared at the little device one and a half inch long, one inch wide.

It was amazing how this small piece of technology had the potential to set in motion the events that would potentially, hopefully, save her daughter's life.

Helen had already started to plan what she would do the days after Ashley's return into her life. However naïve it may be to think that far ahead in time. It was the only thing that would keep her going. And if she had to believe in vain, of the future she will rebuild with Ashley, she would do so without regret.

She knew if Will were here with her he would tell her to reevaluate her mental and emotional state. He would also tell her to get some rest. Even across the vast expanse of time, her Protégé and friend's inner voice could still be heard in Helen's heart. She smiled at the thought.

It had been nearly three months from the moment she stepped out of the dusty cave onto the cold cobblestone roads of London, and now it was Christmas Eve and too many memories pulsed across time and space all jumbling to the forefront of her weary mind. She had been thinking to herself and had wondered how many people in her place would have made the same decision as her—planning to rewrite history for the life of a beloved family member frayed from their life without cause.

_Is it really that wrong to care so much, to make such the effort? No. For you Ashley, nothing will convince me otherwise._

Helen was still convincing herself that she could do it. That she could save Ashley and not effect time in a way that would hurtle catastrophic events in its wake.

Ashley had become one of the most dangerous threats to not only Helen's work, but to the world itself. For someone to have complete control over such a weapon, a living breathing person used for the mere destruction by the hands of a puppet master, was disgusting.

Helen closed the silver locket and nestled her head into the arm rest. Low crackling of the fire logs returned a small amount of comfort. She had designed her small living area of her home to look almost identical to her study. Couch and opposite red leather chairs across from her – built in book cases adorning the gray plastered walls. Even the molding around the chimney resembled the Sanctuary's. It was a way to remember where she came from and to remind her of where she was going to return to one day.

A small kitchen was behind her, with custom cherry wood cabinets and a small island in the center. A small round oak table and chairs seated near a small window overlooking the sparse land to the front of her home. A few bare trees were scattered in her vast front yard. Behind her home the trees become more dense and bled into a stretching hillside covered in white treetops and glinting icicles hanging from the many empty boughs.

She closed her sleepy eyes and let her mind gently take hold to the twilight of sleep.

_Time._

Such a small word, and yet the grand existence of billions of years and countless events can be summed up inside those four simple letters.

_Immortality._

A gift that would allow her another chance at giving her daughter life.

Helen let the image of her daughter's smiling face comfort her heart as she slipped into the realm of sleep. The burning wood continued to spit and crackle orange sparks burning it's warmth into the living area.

Suddenly Helen shuddered awake from loud repetitive knocks on the front door. She quickly tossed off her white blanket, placed her silver watch on the coffee table and walked over to the chimney's mantle. She was still wearing her buck skin leather chaps from having taken her horse out for an evening hunt. She had been too tired to take them off.

She pulled a six shooter black revolver from behind a row of wax candles from the mantle and slowly walked to the front door.

She kept the gun down by her right side and pulled back the black spring loader, blue eyes wide with uncertainty. No one knew she was here. Only James would know if he had looked into land ownership deeds to discover where she had settled.

As she placed her left hand on the doorknob a loud thud sounded as something came in contact with the door. She turned the doorknob, hearing the metal lock click clear from its place and stepped back as she swung the door open towards her. She was met with a cold gust of wind and heavy wisp of snowflakes. The large open field was covered in a thick layer of snow and one set of deep footprints.

She gasped at the man lying down on her small front porch. "Bloody Christ!"

She covered her mouth with her left hand—blue eyes wide with disbelief. She immediately pushed back the spring loader and placed her gun just inside of the door on a side table.

She placed a hand to the man's cold pale neck to find a pulse. "John, John, can you hear me?"

John Druitt was lying in a crumbled heap, black leather jacket wet and covered in a thick layer of snowflakes.

"Helen," he whispered almost incoherently, "you,… are one hard woman, to find." His speech trembling with the onset of hypothermia.

Helen was utterly shocked. She tried to gather her thoughts, but the shaking of her hands revealed her incredulity nonetheless.

"You followed me through the portal John," she whispered to herself.

The soft wind continued to blow the heavy snowflakes onto the wood plank porch and into the entrance to her home. She blinked hard as the flakes blanketed her face and eyes. Helen placed one hand gently on the back of his neck, and slowly tilted his head to so he could see her face as she leaned down to him.

"John, I need to you look at me." She said loudly.

She eagerly tapped the side of his left jaw to pry his attention from the sleepy pull of the cold taking over his body.

His blue eyes were fixed center with the movement of his head.

His face contorted into a painful frown. "I cannot teleport anymore, Helen," he said in a hoarsen murmur. Helen didn't know what that truly meant but her first priority was to get him warm, and inside out of the dangerous weather.

"Alright John I need you to help me get you inside. Can you do that for me?"

John was visibly shaking. His upper torso twitching violently as he kept his arms folded tightly around his chest. When John failed to respond to Helen she stood up and slipped her arms beneath his.

God John was heavy, all six foot five inches of him. Helen grunted as she tried to lift him inside. His tall prone form slid in short distances across the floor with each pull Helen attempted. Once she got him inside she shut the door and kneeled down by his side and started to unbutton his long black leather coat.

"John we have to get you out of these cold damp clothes. Just stay with me John. Keep listening to my voice alright." Helen tried her best to keep her voice calm, after all she was a trained doctor, but seeing John before her unexpected like this; she couldn't digress the undercurrent of her own fear.

John responded in slow tired breaths. "My, horse…"

Helen raised her eyes to his face as she pushed open his jacket. "Your horse—John, where is your horse?"

"Dead," he muttered slowly.

"What kind of horse was it?" she asked. Her voice encouragingly loud as if she was speaking to a small child—like the way she used to speak to Ashley when she was little.

Helen continued to push open his jacket and then scooted behind him to prop him up on her right knee. As his slumped back into her body she pulled back the right side of his jacket and reached to pull out his arm.

"John, keep talking to me," she kept her voice raised, "what kind of horse did you have?"

"A, prize winner."

"Is that right? What breed," she encouraged as her eyes searched for any hidden injuries.

John started to lean to his left almost falling from the grips of Helen's hold. She leaned up to straighten her posture and pushed him up to balance his weight better.

"A Thoroughbred. Black." His voice trailed off into heavy shaking breaths. Every time he sucked in a breath needle-like pains pricked his lungs. "I named, him Tesla."

Helen's heart smiled inwardly at the name. She then pulled free his left arm then started to drag him across the wood floors over to the chimney. God the man was heavy.

"Stay with me now," she huffed as she strained against his weighted body. "I'm going to place you close to the fire. So we can get you warm okay."

John's head slumped back into her arms, his eyes slowly rolling up into his head.

"Damn it John! Don't you fall asleep on me. You need to stay awake."

She pulled his body to the front of the fireplace and frantically unbuttoned his shirt. She forcefully drew him up towards her and pulled free his arms from the sleeves of the clothing. Laying him back down to the floor she made her way to remove his shoes next and she quickly unlaced the ties of his heavy black boots and heaved off his socks. His pants weren't damp like his shirt and long jacket so she chose to keep them in place. She quickly pulled the wool blanket from the sofa and wrapped it tightly around him.

She cupped his cold pale face in her shaking hands. "I'll be right back I promise."

She ran into her bedroom and pulled off the top bedspread and grabbed her other wool knitted blankets folded on the end of her bed.

John was trying to stay awake; it was torture. His body would not stop convulsing even though he willed it to. His muscles seemed to burn with every spasm yet his skin was numb to the touch of Helen and the blanket that was covering him. He couldn't even feel the warmth of the fireside because his body had succumbed to the hypothermia. Everything around him seemed to swim in slow motion—his breaths, the waves of the gentle fire glow, and even his thoughts.

He tried to lift his body but his legs were like stone as was his arms. He was able to move his feet slightly but it was incredibly difficult. He decided at last to try and forcefully blink his eyes at the ceiling as a single attempt to keep from falling asleep.

A shadow passed in front of his sightline and he could hear a voice echo as if it was reverberating from a hollow drum. He felt his head being lifted then placed back down.

Helen placed every blanket she had over him and crawled in beside him underneath each layer. She wrapped an arm around his chest and pulled him closer to her as she laid her head on the soft little pillow next to his.

"John keep talking to me. You're going to be alright, we just have to get you warm. Do you understand?"

Helen could feel his body trembling violently in her arms but she just kept her body closer to his.

"Helen," John cried out faintly. It was a direly strained tone full of panic.

"I am here," she kept her face near the side of his.

"I cannot, teleport anymore," he groaned helplessly.

Helen watched as his face contorted into a painful wince. He kept blinking his eyes slowly, keeping his gaze up into the ceiling. She began rubbing his chest in gentle circles. John shuddered a deep breath as he exhaled, "it's gone."

"You have to explain this to me. What is gone?"

"It," he sighed.

"It? John, tell me what that means."

John continued to stare at the ceiling. His mind was numb and lethargic but something else was missing from it. And he was holding on to that small sense of peace that had been returned to him moments before he teleported after Helen as she followed Adam into the past.

John remembered his body inwardly screaming in agony as he grabbed hold of the power coils that were powering Adam's time device. He willingly let the flow of electricity surge through his body to keep the rift open so Helen could follow. It had only taken an instant for his soul to feel the power swelling and rending into him, shocking his muscles, bone and skin.

The creature inside of him had increasingly grown stronger and he struggled against the intensity of the devil's laughter and rime crude ecstasy taunting from the soulless entity inside of him. It sickened John and he wished he could reach inside of his own body and rip the entity free and squash its life force with the very clench of his fist.

But as soon as he let go of the power coils and let the connection of the current end its tyrannical flow pulsing through his body, the blood in his veins stopped burning and the voice all but cease—entirely.

"The creature inside of me, Helen, it is gone." John nearly laughed the words with delusional joy.

Helen's heart nearly stopped. She had forgotten to breathe with the realization of what he was telling her. She released a gasp and let her mind relive the moments after she had shocked him that evening in the Sanctuary; the Elemental Abnormal had bounced free of John's body and had found itself trapped inside the Sanctuary's electrical systems.

_Could it have happened again?_

Helen let the scenario from the mountain cave play out in her mind. There had been an immeasurable amount of electrical power released from the capacitors and there could have been a possibility that somehow the power absorbed John's inner demon, stripping it from his body.

Helen let the idea wash over her; a quiet smile painted her face and a warm light filled her heart.

_Could it be? _

John's sudden heaving cough broke her short lapse in memory and shocked her back into reality.

"Am I going, to die?" John's teeth were chattering as his head kept twitching from his exposure to the elements.

Helen could not give a truthful answer at this time, but nonetheless she reassured him whole heartedly with as much positive words as possible. "You are getting warmer by the minute. Just try and relax," she whispered softly in his ear. She rubbed his chest a little harder hoping he would react to her touch. "Can you feel my hand John?"

John let a half tired smile play to his mouth. "Yes."

"That is good. That means your body temperature is warming. Just keep talking to me. Everything is going to be alright."

"Helen."

"Yes," she answered watching his blue eyes dance on the edge of consciousness.

"I never wanted to murder anyone," he muttered in waves of chattering teeth.

Helen's heart felt like it had jumped into her throat. She clearly heard the undercurrent of guilt laced in his words. It was a vulnerable side of John that she hadn't seen in over one hundred years.

"I know that John. Your actions were not your own. We know that now and do not blame you."

"I tried to fight it Helen. Every bloody day,… I battled against it." Helen felt his body shift with the restlessness of the cold inflaming his muscles. She pulled him closer to her.

"I know. I know." Helen let her hand cradle the left side of his neck. "You need not blame yourself anymore."

"But, it is hard not to."

Helen sighed, sending a warm breathe to his face as she lifted up just to lean over his head a bit. She gave a reassuring smile as she shifted her head over his. "You were a good man then, and you are good man now. That creature took hold of you against your will John. It cannot do that to you anymore. Do you hear me?"

John's nearly catatonic blue eyes stared into her eyes and lingered at her for a few moments. His body was still trembling but not as violently as before which started to give him some comfort knowing that he may live to see the next day.

Helen watched his glazed blue eyes take in her face. It had been so long since his eyes had such a peace within them. They were soft but wide with alertness. And she knew he was deeply scared from the situation he has found himself in—almost freezing to death on the side of a remote hillside in Austria. She leaned in to kiss his forehead then slowly leaned back down and rested her head on his shoulder.

Her mind was ablaze with so many questions to ask him in detail but she kept her questions short just to keep him talking.

"John, tell me how you found me here?"

She felt his chest rise and inhale a deep breath. "I looked up names at the local London City Library," he wheezed another deep breath in, "and followed every lead of women with the last name, Heathering."

Helen softly laughed. "Of course you would."

"I just didn't expect to have done it, on train and horseback." A twinge of a cheeky tone resonated from his deep rumbling voice.

Helen was taken back for a moment. John had made the greatest of efforts to come see her, for whatever reason it may be. And he had done this without the use of his teleporting gift. The sheer undertaking was a great attribute to find humbling in this man. A man she once loved with every ounce of her being.

John was weak and deeply exhausted. The cold that enveloped him had drained so much of his strength. Every word released from his mouth made it even more of an effort to engage in conversation. John took another painful breath in and stretched out a leg in a fidgeting response to his body's achiness.

"John are you alright?" Helen asked as she leaned up to lean over him again.

"Fine," hissed John as he tilted his head to look at the wall behind Helen.

"What is it," she asked worriedly.

"Nothing Helen, I am, just tired."

"I know you are," she said gently.

John continued to let his eyes roam across the room. It looked oddly familiar. He analyzed the gray plastered walls and the leather seats behind Helen. His sight followed the dark floor boards to the built in bookcases and smiled as he saw the array of sorted leather bounded books on the shelves.

"You always did love, to read."

Helen turned her head to follow his observing stare.

"Yes, indeed I am quite the bookworm."

"Yes, you are…" He forced a smile.

"I guess I got that from my father." Her voice quivered slightly remembering the moment she and John had teleported into his building in Hollow Earth; only to find crumbled and burned stonework in its place and her father's cane atop the debris.

John's whole body flinched when he heard her mention her father, as he remembered why he had come to her in the first place.

"Tesla," he groaned.

Helen darted her gaze back down to John. "What John?"

John tried to lift himself out of Helen's hold. "My jacket, get my jacket," he wheezed and lifted his head from the pillow.

"John calm down, I don't understand."

"Tesla, he found something. Just, get my jacket. Please." John was adamant, almost begging.

"Alright, I am going to get your jacket."

John rested his head back to the pillow and grimaced another painful frown. "Okay."

Helen crawled out form the blankets and tucked the corners around his body, laid a hand to his cheek and quickly walked over to where his damp jacket blanketed the front entrance of the doorway. John closed his eyes and listened to her booted footsteps scuff the wooden floor.

Helen grabbed the jacket in her arms and brought it back over to John, kneeling down next to him—her eyes bright with curiosity.

"Inside, the left pocket," he said.

John turned his head sideways and watched her as she pulled open the black leather jacket. Helen found a long inside pocket and was shocked to find what was tucked inside it.

"Tesla said it was giving off some electrical field. He said to give it to you. That is all I know."

Helen fought back the tears pooling in her eyes—"My father's cane?"

"Tesla said the Sanctuary's security system found something." John fought a dispelling wave of chattering teeth. "Emitting some sort of, EM field," he breathed hard.

Helen stood up and walked backwards and nearly fell into the red leather chair behind her. As she slumped down in absolute confusion the top silver handle popped up with a loud click. The jolt started Helen and she dropped the cane into her lap.

"Bloody Hell...?"

"Indeed," said John at a loss for words.

Helen studied the black cane and attempted to release the silver handle. It was corkscrewed in place and she gently turned the handle around until it was free from the base. She could see parchment paper rolled inside the hollow end. A small rounded end had been meticulously devised to hold the piece of paper.

Helen carefully pulled free the thick paper and unrolled it.

"Oh, dear god," she cried aloud in shock.

"What is it?" John shifted to his side under the warm blankets, still shaking but holding onto what was left of his conscience thought processes.

Helen's brow and jaw tightened as an uncontrolled sob took the very breath from her lungs. Her blue eyes all but filled with opaque tears. She blinked away the salty drops blurring her vision to find herself staring at a message—from the future.

* * *

><p>Dear Mom,<p>

I don't really know where to start so I will start at the beginning.

You are not going to understand why and how you are reading this from me, but things will get clearer as you read through the rest of my letter.

I want you to know that it was my fault to make the choice to try and break into the Head of the Cabal facility with Henry. If I could do it over again knowing what I know now, I would never have done it. I just wanted to be a part of the solution to break the organization from the inside. I thought with Henry's help we could do it. I was wrong and I am so sorry for how much pain this has caused you. I want you to know that you were the best thing to ever happen to me. You chose to give me life and chose to allow me to be a part of a world so beautiful and amazing that words could never explain. I have seen so many wonders which made my life more fulfilling in ways you could never know. Seriously; our house was like a zoo, a world within a world that opened my heart to humanity and acceptance of things different. I will never forget your encouragement, your confidence in me, or your love that was always reassured through my life with you as my mom. I never was angry at you for not telling me about Dad and who he was. You believed I was better off not knowing and I would have done the same if I had been in your place.

Your strength is something I have admired my whole life. More so now that I understand all that you and your friends had to endure. I could never fathom experiencing time as you have or living through so many lifetimes with the thought that you would never die. And I also understand that by giving me life you had accepted a life that will eventually be lived without me by your side. But you made that choice, and I lived because of it.

You are the strongest person I have ever known and I am so very proud to have had you as my mother. I know our family has told you not to burden yourself with what has happened to me. I know the Big Guy has been there for you. He was like the father I never had and I am sorry I was not there for you both during that month in Nov 2010.

I had, however, teleported into the Sanctuary in the mausoleum around Nov of 2010. That is when I found the Big Guy's coffin and overheard Will and some girl named Kate talk about how you were losing your memory. I somehow was able to jump through the EM Shield into that month and year. Henry had also said you had shot Biggie. I didn't believe it then and will never believe it.

Gregory tells me it's the year 2011. As of right now I am writing to you from a city from below the Earth called Praxis. I am at your father's residence. Gregory found me on the street still half vamped out. I thought I had just teleported from our home, Oct 16th 2009, but he tells me it's May 2011. I have lost two years and I don't know why. I guess something happened with the EM shield or from the exposure to the Cabal. Gregory is trying to figure out how to dormant my vampiric genes again. If this letter finds you one day then something has happened to me as Gregory has promised to give you my letter whenever that day comes.

Please tell Henry that he was the best big brother a girl could ask for. His geekness and big heart was something that always kept a smile on my face and I have loved him like a brother all my life. Tell him to keep up with the techno stuff because he will never be happy without something to rewire, solder, drill, and weld together. And remind him to keep allergy pills close by if he ever has to clean out the Nubbins habitat.

Let Will know he is a special kind of guy. He has a warm heart and a good soul and he was a perfect addition to the family. I knew early on he was going to be a valuable member of the team. He was someone I wish I could have gotten to know better but I know he will take good care of you guys. Tell him not to lose his pants from the chaos of Sanctuary life.

However long it takes Gregory will work to find a way to counteract what the Cabal has done to me. He has so much information already stored on his techno tablets from testing my blood and studying it. He is a wonderful grandfather and I am glad to have had the time allowed to know him.

I just want you to be okay when I am gone but as of right now Gregory and I are working on a plan so I can get back to you. But if we don't succeed, don't let a life lived without me keep you from living yours. I hope my words can give you some comfort. Focus on the good times full of laughter and joy, and how much I loved you. Because that is the very meaning of living—all you need is love. I would only wish the same for me if I was in your shoes. You don't have to say goodbye because I will always be by your side where ever you are. And always know that I will love you, no matter what.

Nos must amitto vivo en,

Ashley


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Helen had recoiled into the red leather chair, knees pulled close into her chest and head resting on the top of her leather chaps.

John just stared at her, taking in every facial twitch that coursed within the muscles of her expression. He analyzed the deep seeded pain frozen on her face, her furrowed brow and unhinged release of sorrow. And he was at a loss to help comfort her in his present state.

And for the first time in over one hundred years; he was able to feel sympathy for her without the dark shadow overwhelming him with hate.

The ink blotted parchment paper trembled in her left hand as she traced along the curves of Ashley's signature with her other. Black smears smudged the bottom half of the letter as Helen's tears fell and bled upon the surface of the note.

John lay quiet, his blue eyes in a twilight slumber as he watched her sitting in the chair. He could now feel the soft fuzzy wool of the blanket on his chest and a touch of heat on his scalp. Helen had been right; he was getting warmer as every second ticked by. But he was still so exhausted and refused movement in fear that the muscle spasms in his body would painfully retaliate the moment he tried to shift any weight.

Helen had read the letter at least 10 times over. With every sentence she read, Ashley's words seemed to echo inside her mind; like a haunting subtle voice. And it terrified her. It had only been two years, but she felt like the sound of her own daughter's voice was slowly slipping away from her own memory. The only word she really seemed to remember clearly in its entire audio wake was; _Mom_…

The last ever image of her daughter, that split second her lucid and helpless face slowly turned away from her forever; was what Helen saw every morning and every night since the day she faded into a dissipating blur of red matter. As much as she tried to place another image of happiness from another time in its place, the happy image never hovered long enough in her thoughts to drown the end. The end was too ingrained, too burned, too splintered into her soul.

Helen retched a painful deep breath in and quickly rolled the paper back into her father's walking cane. She could feel the panic grow as her air flow was becoming restricted from the shock of what she was reading. It finally all started to sink in—everything all at once.

She could feel her chest tightening in with a heavy constricting weight. She gave a quick focused glace at John and gasped her words aloud, "Stay there,… just rest. Don't, get up."

Helen placed a hand to her sternum trying anxiously to rub her chest to ease the tightening as she stumbled her way out of her chair in a blinding haze, running to the front door.

She needed air. Open space.

John stayed silent, but wanted so much to get up and take her into his arms. He had assumed Gregory had written whatever was on that note. But for the life of him he couldn't guess what it was—perhaps a message about Adam he thought.

Helen opened the front door without haste, pulling it hard and swinging it closed behind her. She heard the door slam and shut behind her as she ran out into the black starry world of night.

The cold swallowed her whole as she ran out into the vast expanse.

The bright stars and quarter moon lit up the snow covered hills before her as if they were glowing white seas. She trudged through the fresh snow, her boots crunching the dry white powder, and kept running until she fell down beside a bare tree, wrapping one arm around its freezing bark to steady herself as she fell at its side.

_It will fail._

"It all will fail," she cried in exasperated sobs as she groaned from the sharp pain stabbing inside her chest. Her shoulders heaved up and down as she felt the raw emotions sting her very soul. She pressed her forehead into the cold icy bark and closed her eyes. Whatever she had done, will do, will put Ashley in the middle of ground zero for the destruction of Hollow Earth.

"Why,… Ashley," she wheezed, "why would I do that to you?" She cried the words into the empty darkness surrounding her.

Helen slumped further down beside the truck of the tree, squeezing her eyes shut with the increasing pains in her chest.

Helen's mind was abuzz with uncertainty.

Her master plan, represented by images like movie scenes played out in Helen's mind. It was just a hopeful theory of a plan and even the slightest understanding of it now proved it could be done. And now she had irrefutable proof that it will be done; the tangible evidence had been delivered into her very hands.

As she lay down tucked into the side of the cold tree she forced her arms over her head and looked up to the darkest of skies, watching as a few stars twinkled and flashed in pulses.

_Deep slow breaths_ she told herself_. Deep slow breaths._

It had stopped snowing and the air was clear and still and fresh. Helen forced a labored inhale of the night air and fought against the stabbing in her lungs.

Ashley had survived the EM Shield teleport. This she knew. So her initial idea proved not in vain. But it confirmed another important detail; Tesla would someday agree to help her carry out her plans.

_Think Helen think. What can I do differently? Sending Ashley to Hollow Earth would keep her out of harms' way and Gregory would be the only one I would trust to help her. This letter proves that she makes it to you alive Father. It proves that her sanity and humanity was not completely stolen from her soul._

But these were just small pieces of the larger puzzle. Ashley had been a whirlwind of terror after the Cabal's manipulations. And who knew how she was able to keep control of her wits after teleporting into Praxis. So many unanswered questions plague her immortal mind—so many.

Gasps echoed across the blackness and she locked her hands around the back of her neck and forced her eyes to stay open. She watched as the warm air from her lungs shifted in lingering fog clouds around her face as she struggled to control each breath.

Helen rested her head back into the side of the tree and let her tired eyes gaze over the distant moonlit landscape. A slanting hillside disappeared in front of overlapping adjacent hills into the horizon. In the distance white snowcapped mountains glowed dimly under the night sky. Soft wafts of air spun around her. The low lying drafts stirred the icicles hanging from the bare branches above her on the tall tree, simulating the sound effects of ringing wind chimes and porcelain bells.

If only she didn't have to wait so damn long. If only she knew what exact measures to take to make her plan full proof.

If only she had the answers.

Helen's panic started to digress in short lingering waves. She knew she had to stop crying knowing that it was just making her situation more difficult. Panic along with the onset of uncontrolled sobs make for utter agony.

She tried to picture Ashley—tried to remember a happier time.

In a blink of an eye she found her memories. She remembers sitting with Ashley at a computer table with Will. It was shortly after they captured the Nubbins. She remembers Ashley's squeal of excitement as she tapped the glass enclosure housing a tiny bouncing baby Nubbin. Ashley had wanted to keep one for herself—as a pet.

Helen's breaths came more slowly and less violently. She kept playing back the smile on Ashley's face, the joy of what her legacy had brought to her daughter—the humanity taught to nurture other living creatures; Abnormals.

Helen smiled—though no one was there to see it.

A cold breeze blew her bangs from her face and tossed her hair about her shoulders. She could swear that the tear drops streaming down her face had all but frozen on her skin; small icy statues of loss.

Helen let her memories continue to aid in gaining control of her panic.

She remembered making her daily rounds down into the lower level habitats and checking in on the Nubbins herself. And she would always make a point to check in on the one Nubbin that had belonged to her daughter. Most of the time they were all peacefully asleep in the slow metabolic environment that was stabilizing them, but that one special fur ball always awoke, blinking those little round eyes back at Helen. If Helen stared long enough it would seem like the little creature was smiling back up at her. Helen would tap on the glass with every encounter and softly repeat the phrase Ashley had adopted so lovingly, '_Hey little guy,…'_

And it broke her heart every time she said it.

Helen now could take in shallow breaths without the heavy weight crashing inwardly in her chest. She put one hand to the tree and slowly pushed herself back to her feet, rustling the layer of snow beneath her. As she found her footing and balance she kept her hands over her head and continued to just breathe.

She would have to go back in to check on John and losing her wits was something she couldn't afford to do.

Two people were depending on her now. Ashley and John—her daughter and the one man she will love for all eternity.

Another wisp of wind blew around her tossing the frozen icicles above into a swinging glittering sway. She looked up to watch them shift side by side as the moonlight refracted within the veins of the frozen molecules.

She would have over one hundred years to dissect and improve her plan for saving Ashley. And least she had that much.

But what if by doing so results in the very outcome she was facing now?

_Perhaps Einstein would have a theory._

Helen turned from the barren tree and walked back into her home. As she walked she kept her arms over atop her head with her eyes towards the heavens, hoping, that she'll still have a chance to make a difference.

As the night hours passed into the dawning cloudless sky of the next day John's senses absorbed every sound pulsating from the room around him.

An amber glow continued to bounce waves of light across the room as the sunrise shined warmly through the large window. The fire logs spit and crackled its burning embers from behind his head. Warm breaths lingered on his neck from a sleeping body curled into his side, an arm reaching unconsciously around his waist. He surveyed his surroundings and the mobility of his own limbs. He wiggled his toes and found that the sharp stabbing pain in his muscles had subsided. He flexed his fingers and attempted to lift his arms that were down by his sides.

He let a comforting smile curl his lips as he relaxed his body inviting the peace that was found from being alive.

A peace that was found without the presence of that internal voice; Jack the Ripper.

He tilted his head slightly to nuzzle the side of Helen's face that was nestled in the crook of his neck. It had been so long since they both had falling asleep in each other's arms. He had missed it.

John glanced down and took notice of the heavy knitted wool blankets covering him and Helen. There must have been seven layers keeping the heat from escaping from their intertwined bodies.

Helen shuffled her legs under the blanket then pulled her arm across his stomach and cradled it to her chest. He watched her as she blinked her eyes open, only to lift her head to look up to him.

John returned a gentle smile as their eyes locked. "Good morning," he whispered in a low kind tone.

Helen rolled over to her stomach to take a closer look at his face. "I see you are awake," her voice full of care and relief.

"Indeed I am." He bowed a little nod as he answered.

Helen raised a hand to his forehead watching his eyes follow the motion of her movement. "I must have just fallen asleep," she said surprising herself. "How are you feeling?"

"Right as rain," he chuckled quietly. John let the feeling on inner peace consume his soul and he reveled in the light in which he saw Helen. He had not felt so free since the night he and Helen had left the theatre house in London—the night he had proposed to her.

"Any weakness in your muscles? Any dizziness? Headache?" Helen slowly sat up next to him, keeping the top knitted blanket around her shoulders like a cloak.

"None at all." John stretched out his legs and rolled his ankles to assess any tightness in his lower body. Then he pulled his arms free from the warm blankets and cross them behind his head.

"Are you sure you feeling alright John? You passed out just after sunset. I couldn't wake you so I just kept beside you. The heavy blankets and fire kept our body heat contained. You were lucky John, if it had been just 20 minutes more…" Helen stopped talking to take in his curious stare. John was just gazing at her, lovingly like he had done the years of their engagement and every moment after he'd met her for the first time. A constant static smile fixed on his face.

"John," she said as her brow lowered, eyes squinting, "why are you looking at me like that?"

John breathed a heavy sigh, and hesitated to respond directly. It was like seeing Helen for the first time. Like it had been just after she had shocked him back to life that day which temporarily released him from the demon inside. "I can hear my thoughts once again. My mind is so clear Helen. Like it used to be."

Helen listened to the tone of his voice and observed his face as he spoke. Something _was_ different. She could hear it now—only hours before his voice was crippled from the intensity of the debilitating cold. Now he was lucid, alert, and aware of his environment. But it was something more apparent than just from the hypothermic shock he was experiencing. Helen couldn't help but feel that small spark of a lost love igniting in her heart. It was a flicker of a flame that had never died completely.

"John I want you to tell me what happened to you before I followed Adam into the portal." Her tone was friendly, but offered an undercurrent of wanting clear answers.

John turned to his side and rested his head in his right hand as he held himself up by his elbow. His warm blue eyes looking into hers.

"Of course. As I took hold of the power lines to help power the portal, I could feel my whole body scream. The thing inside me surged in strength. The dark thoughts were like a horn to my ear. It was so loud, it deafened everything around me. My own thoughts and feelings drowned from my mind and then it faded as I let go of the electrical connection. Only to have freedom flooding my very being."

John couldn't help but grin from ear to ear with his revelation.

"I watched you walk in after Adam and I teleported in after you. I knew there would be two of me in the past as well. I knew the risks, but I didn't want you to go alone." John kept his soft eyes locked to hers.

Helen wrapped the wool blanket tighter around her. Her stoic expression almost cracked revealing the strife of risks warranted by time travel. "You wanted to protect me?"

"Yes Helen." He smiled nonchalantly.

"But John," her voice hitched in response, "There are repercussions to this," she let a hand reach out from under her blanket and strike the air as she spoke, "the risks alone are unmeasureable. I cannot stress enough of the dangers of your choosing to follow me here."

"Helen, I could say the same for you." He responded in kind.

"Damn it John, I didn't have a choice. Adam was going to rewrite all of history. He killed countless innocent people just to carry out his plan." Helen's voice was definitely raised now. John could see how the situation was becoming more evident to her—to him.

"I know Helen, but we both risked a lot to return to this time. And I would never have let you do this alone. What is done, is done. We just have to make the best of our predicament."

Helen stood up and dropped the blanket down to the floor and walked over to the red leather chair and snatched her father's cane from the seat. "Do you see this John? Inside this cane was a message! A bloody message from the future written to me!"

John had expected as much, but didn't know the enormity of its truth. Or who had written it.

Helen clung tight to the cane and held it close to her chest. "My whole life is going to revolve around this for the next hundred years!" Helen's words were controlled but increasingly vulnerable. "That is all I can tell you. And it is imperative that we stay out of history. The both of us. Bloody Hell I just wished you hadn't followed me John."

Helen took a step back towards the chair and let her body fall into the soft red leather.

John slowly started to stand, pushed off his warm blankets and walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her. He reached to take her hand.

She pulled away.

The small gesture of not reciprocating and accepting his comfort hurt him.

"Helen, I just wanted to be here for you. In any way I could. I lost you once to that demon inside of me." Helen listened carefully to his soft rumbling voice.

"I don't want to lose you again," he sighed.

Helen watched as his face contorted in a sad frown just as he did when he confirmed his guilt from not being a true father that night in the Sanctuary corridor after they teleported out from their first encounter with Ashley—from the Cabal warehouse in Alberta.

Raw emotions of unimaginable pain still pulsed through every synaptic nerve in her fragile heart.

"John, I don't know what to do," she said in a low desperate voice. Her blue eyes once again blurred by the onset of tears. She still clutched tightly to the precious lifeline that was keeping safe inside her father's cane.

"Helen," John placed a gentle hand to her knee, "we shall take each day as it comes. As long as we stay out of the path of history, we shall not affect the timeline in ways that will destroy our own."

Helen turned away from him to stare over to the still burning fire. "Now you sound like Tesla."

"I suppose that is a good thing. For you trust him wholeheartedly do you not?"

Helen continued to watch as the fire flames danced and twirled around. "A limited trust is more like it." Her words almost came off as a scowl.

John bowed his head slightly. "But nonetheless Helen, our situation calls for us to work together."

He left the question open ended. He didn't want to spend the rest of the past years again living without her by his side. He loved her too much to let her go now.

Helen returned her gaze back to him.

"Tell me more about how you lost your ability to teleport." Her question was direct. And it called for a direct answer.

John lowered his eyes and stood up, and walked around her chair to stand in front of the large cherry panel window behind her.

Dawn was melting away the dark purple hue of night. Soft pink and light blue tints shaded the horizon and the full sky above. John placed a hand to the thin wooden square panels and ran his fingers to trace the window's border.

Helen twisted in her chair bringing her knees into her chest and rested her head on the back of the chair so she could watch him as he spoke. He kept his back to her as he found his words.

"I was able to teleport into the rift after you. I kept close to you and watched over you from corner alleyways and dark streets. I even stayed in the cell with you and watched over you until you stirred to consciousness. I teleported out just before you came to. I watched from the end of the street corner as you and James entered the London Sanctuary. I was not in fear of running into myself because, you see, Helen," John looked up into the clear dawning sky, blinking as he continued to speak, "I knew of the very path my past self was taking in this time. So I can assure you, I will never run into myself."

Helen looked down at the cane she still had gripped close to her chest and looked at the silver polished handle and wondered how her father came up with the idea to place a letter inside for her to find in the first place.

"Then in the middle of one of my teleports I came crashing down onto a rooftop. When I awoke I was soaking wet from a down pour and could not will myself to teleport again. Just like that; my gift has left me."

"John I think I may have an answer to that." she said.

John turned to face her.

"Nikola had created a weapon to counteract the Source Blood's effect, the Sanguine Vampiric traits on a number of test subjects he used in an experiment a few years ago. His weapon was charged by his electrical mutations. Each test subject's DNA was forced dormant on contact with the device. He called it the De-vamper. My best guess is that the Hollow Earth power capacitors that you subjugated yourself to acted as its own highly advanced De-vamper, degrading your Source Blood genome during your contact."

John's pupils grew with disbelief. But it made a world of sense. Even more so to hear it from Helen.

"Good god Helen. You may be correct?" John's voice had a gradual raise to it. As if he was thinking it through as he spoke aloud. He couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment rise in his heart.

"That has to be the logical explanation. My only other guess would be from the radiation from the portal rift we entered, but I have had no ill effects that I can attest to. So that rules out that as a plausible cause."

"So, I am once again, normal?"

"Yes John it appears to be the case."

John stood motionless—his pale skin lighting up with the warmth of the sunrise beaming through the window.

Helen didn't take her eyes off him. Her focus switched from his tight jawed expression, his sun kissed bare skin, and from the tears welling in his blue eyes.

_Normal._

_I am normal._

"But John, this makes your situation a more vulnerable one." She sat up straight in the chair, a hint of quiver in her voice.

"You will be acceptable to disease now. With our Sanguine genes we have the ability to ward off illness, and you will be at risk now that your genes have become dormant."

John made his way over to the other red leather chair beside Helen's and sat down staring mindlessly at the cherry wood grained floor.

John Druitt hadn't known illness in over a century. Not even the slightest host of a cold. This would make things most tenuous for him.

John Druitt was once again—mortal.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: *runs to the Sanctuary FanFic flag pole and raises the 'continuity forgot to add detail flag'*. Sorry, for some reason I forgot to add the Nov 20, 2009 date on Biggie's marbled coffin plate in chapter 7, so I edited that back into the chapter. I've been using some of the actual air dates of certain episodes as a timeline for my story. Hence, the dates and years mentioned in my chapters. :)

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

_Ashley._

_Ashley._

_Ashley!_

Ashley's blue eyes shot open wide bringing her back into the world of the conscious with the twilight fade of her mother's voice. She was lying on the sofa again in her grandfather's residence, a blanket pulled up to her shoulders.

Gregory watched patiently as Ashley apprehensive oriented her senses to her current environment.

Ashley pulled free her left hand from under the warm blanket and rubbed her temple shutting her eyes to a fierce headache.

She attempted to sit up but Gregory placed a hand to her good shoulder. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa, his green eyes heavy with concern. "Ashley," Gregory flashed an assuring smile, "It's alright," he said calmly, "you've been sleeping for quite a long time. And you're hurt. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Ashley immediately picked up on the fear resonating in his voice which was accompanied by the quivering in his words. It only took a moment for her to break from the haze clouding her mind.

"Oh god!" She yelled as she jolted forward as the last hour of what she had endured came to the forefront of her mind.

"Just lie back down darling," he said quickly, "you've been injured. Ashley what happened, where did you teleport to?"

Gregory was full of worry for he had not a clue where she had been. He had stayed at his home for a few hours after she teleported out and after she failed to show, he walked out in the streets in search for his granddaughter. Lastly after that search failed too he checked the admission records of every Praxis hospital in case she had been brought in. When that failed to yield answers he had returned back home. And waited. Hoping she would return to him.

Ashley rested her head back down on the pillow placed for her. Gregory was looking more concerned by the second as he felt her trembling beside him.

Ashley felt a sharp stabbing pain pulsing through the top right portion of her shoulder. She raised her left hand to place it over the wound.

"Oh crap, I was shot," she hissed.

"Yes my dear you were."

"Oh my god Gregory," she looked up to him, not sure what his response would be after she spoke her next words but she spoke them nevertheless —her voice shaky with every word. "Gregory, I saw my mom."

Gregory could see how her pupils widened with fear in the dim light of the living area. Ashley words were so painful—so broken.

"I saw her. I teleported home, but,… but it was Nov 20, 2009. I found myself in the Sanctuary mausoleum. The Big guy had died. I saw the date on his coffin." she spat quickly.

Ashley whimpered in a low sigh barely audible to Gregory's ears, "something is wrong with me," she admitted as her face lowered in a desperate draw. Fear continued to lace her face. Tears were threatening to release from her tired eyes in the haze of confusion but she kept them at bay for the moment. She already knew that her body had been crippled by the Cabal manipulations but teleporting to random years was slowly fading the small amount of sanity that she was clinging to.

"I,.. I think I am teleporting through time somehow," she said.

Gregory patted her shoulder. "Ashley I had originally theorized that possibility but I have never known about a time teleporting Abnormal."

He watched as she withdrew her hand from her shoulder and rubbed her forehead.

"But that doesn't mean they could not exist," he added. "And right now I am beginning to think that is what is happening to you." He watched as Ashley took a forceful deep breath and closed her eyes tight, wincing from the pain from her shoulder. "Just breathe Ashley, tell me what you saw."

Ashley kept her eyes closed and shook her head forcing away the tightness growing in her chest. "Mom was sick; she was losing her memory. She didn't even know it was me when I was talking to her."

"You said this was in 2009?"

"Yes." She slowly wiped the tears that had unwillingly released from her eyes.

"Well I can assure you she is well. She came down to Hollow Earth a few months ago and she was the same Helen I had always remembered." Gregory smiled. His green eyes full of sincerity.

A weight immediately lifted from Ashley's heart. She let a gasp slip from her mouth as stared at him.

"What? Are you sure?'

"Yes dear. We spoke briefly upon her departure. Our High Council had let her and her team live after they had been discovered in the city and had been sentenced to death. Our city has strict policies on intruders and ones that harbor them. Barbaric yes, but they were spared in secret. One cannot enter the city without the proper identification."

Ashley stayed silent carefully taking in every word he said.

"My mom came down to Praxis," she questioned.

"Yes dear, she had come to Praxis following clues I had left for her through the years. You see, on certain birthdays I had given her a gift that if placed in congruence revealed the location of this city. This city was built in a time when Abnormals were fighting in a world battle against the Vampire race—a time long before the rise of our civilizations."

_Vampires._

_Tesla is a Vampire._

Ashley was lost in total disbelief. This was all new to her. She had felt like she just recently met Tesla, without of course from her loss of two years. She and John had made their way into the catacombs of Rome to save her mother. She had watched John teleport his arm into Tesla's abdomen.

She had never been truly introduced to Tesla but she did know about The Five after John kidnapped her to gain her trust in taking him to find Helen in Rome.

Ashley let out a painful groan as she tried to push herself up to lean into the back cushion beside her.

"Be careful dear your wound is slow to heal."

"Yeah, I found that out shortly after I got shot."

"Yes, that had me worried. How did you find yourself in such a predicament?"

"Oh," her voice cracked as she squinted her eyes as pain once more shot through her shoulder, "after I had gone to see my mom I was able to teleport down to the Sanctuary sublevel to Henry's computer lab. I was trying to access mom's medical records to try and find out what was wrong with her. When I couldn't crack mom's password I ran out to the back of the Sanctuary. I was trying to think of you but I couldn't jump to you."

"Jump?"

She squinted open her eyes and nodded at Gregory. "Teleport," she groaned.

"Ah."

"So as I was running away; I was shot at. After I fell into the ground I saw my vampiric nails surface. I got up and starting to run to try and make my way behind a shipping container so I could attempt to jump again, out of their sightline this time."

"Well my child it worked."

"Yeah, I wouldn't know what to do if I'd been caught," she sighed.

"But there is one thing you need to know Ashley."

Ashley frowned, trying to hide another grimace from the pain in her arm.

"You've been gone nearly a month."

_A month._

Ashley fell silent. She could literally hear the blood surging through her ears as she felt herself getting lightheaded from her increasing angered frustration.

She pressed her fingers harder onto her forehead trying to dull her swimming headache.

"What the hell is going on with me," she murmured as tears once again welled in her eyes.

"I am not entirely sure," he said regrettably.

"Okay," she whispered, "no more teleporting for me."

"I think that would be most prudent Ashley. And I have been thinking now since you've been talking. I have the understanding that your teleports have been triggered by stress factors as we have hypothesized. Let me try to put this in some kind of pattern for you. I found you here in Praxis after you said you had been sent into the Sanctuary by the Cabal."

"Yeah," she said in a quiet voice as her eyes lowered.

Gregory patted her arm again. "Ashley we will figure this out alright. I am just placing the pieces of the puzzle in a row." Gregory's voice was low and gentle and he smiled to ease her tension.

Ashley returned a half smile though it was mostly forced as she looked back up at him.

"Alright, secondly you teleported after you saw the picture of your mother and you. Remember? The one I said Helen had given to me after you and her helped me during my exposure to the Abnormal insect by the Cabal. Remember, I thought I was Charlie Denton?" Gregory gave a soft chuckle and hoped Ashley would find that name a bit comical as well as the situation.

Ashley sighed a laugh, "yeah, I remember."

Gregory nodded his head. "Okay, now you said you teleported three times while back at the Sanctuary; one to find Helen, one to Henry's lab, and the last to get back to me?"

"You got it," she muttered despondently.

"And you were thinking of a certain person and location that you wanted to teleport to right?"

"Exactly." Ashley started to calm a little bit. Gregory was trying his best to figure all this out. As was she. It was so confusing, painful, and such an annoyance at the same time. Ashley just wanted to be home. Back home to her mother. And now finding out she was teleporting in time just made things so much more complicated.

"So that part is understood in your thought process for teleporting; stress and a clear thought on a specific person and location sends you there. But I cannot fathom of why you are teleporting through time. But one thing is clear; you need not lose your wits from now on. God knows where you could end up," he replied gently.

"Easier said than done gramps," she said with a hint of deterred cheekiness.

"Is there anything else in my blood work that could explain this," she persisted. Ashley had seen her mother perform countless blood tests through the years in her work and it would make the greatest of sense to detail every scan made on multiple samples.

"As a matter of fact dear, I have been running your blood tests again since you've teleported back here, which has been about 12 hours."

_12 hours._

Ashley fought back another wave of tears as she looked at her grandfather. "Gregory what are we going to do?"

Gregory could see clearly the helplessness in her eyes. It reminded him of Helen and way she looked when he told her he couldn't stay at the Sanctuary.

"Well I do need to talk to you about something. I have been reading your results from your last blood tests and have found something most unusual."

Ashley's brow furrowed in concern.

"You have trace elements of a rare Hollow Earth element in your body. Your blood work showed the element Cerellium. It is native to Hollow Earth and not found on the surface. This element has somehow transposed itself onto your genes for teleportation."

Ashley stayed reticent and let him continue his speech. She could see Gregory's focus change into the scientist demeanor that was shared by her mother.

_Rare Hollow Earth element?_

_Connected to my genes?_

"Transposed? Gregory what does that mean?"

"The element has bonded to your teleporting genetic sequences but not to the Sanguine Vampiric genes. Your teleportation DNA strands have a barely detectable electrical field that encompasses them. And it looks like the Cerellium element has bonded to each strand like a magnet—forming a balanced positive and negative connection per se."

Ashley fumed her distress. "How the hell did a Hollow Earth element get into my blood stream when I haven't ever been to this place before?" Ashley's tone had risen to a frantic yell. To her it had only been a few moments ago she had seen her mother standing before her alive; both from the sublevel and her jump back into the Sanctuary. Not to mention finding her mother in such a grave emotional state from her last teleport.

It was all Ashley could do to not unravel completely in front of her grandfather.

Gregory gently grabbed her shoulders. "Ashley please calm down. I have no answers to that my child. We are at a loss I am afraid." It was the first time in Gregory's life where he was facing so many unknown variables. As a scientist there were trial and error processes that would reveal of debunk the quest for answers. And even in Praxis he was no closer in understanding them.

Gregory's words were sharp and truthful—determined.

"I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and help you."

And Ashley believed him. There was an underlying dynamic of loyalty found in her family. Big Guy had been like a father to her and Henry had always respected her and her mother. The Sanctuary was a family and she knew as long as she breathed air nothing would stand in Gregory's way from them helping her get back home.

If only she knew steps that had been taken by her mother to try and sort out her second chance at life; things would be somewhat clearer. But even now in Ashley's time Helen had lived the hundred years while holding the keys to her survival.

"Ashley this brings me to another situation of utmost importance we must discuss," his demeanor changed abruptly. And Ashley instantly new something more pressing was about to be revealed.

She slumped back into the back cushion as she tried to control her breathing. Gregory stared at her for a few more moments trying to find his words.

"Gregory you're scaring me. What is it," she sighed with anxious eyes.

"Praxis has been placed under Martial Law," he noted, "key members of our leader's security force have gone missing. Espionage is feared among those that have disappeared. The whole city was placed on high alert two days ago and I have taken upon myself to forge documents for you. We fear the gravest of actions are threatening the city. Some citizens have fled but not enough to cause a complete panic. But your safety again is my only priority now and I have taken the necessary precautions to get you out of the city."

"Oh this is fantastic," she snapped condescendingly.

"Ashley this is not an easy circumstance to try and explain. The High Council fears this situation will escalate into something catastrophic and I do not want you around when and if it happens. So therefore I have uploaded destination routes into a handheld tablet for you to follow."

Ashley's pupils darkened at the revelation.

"I believe it is in your best interest to leave first thing tomorrow morning. You need not trouble yourself. There is transportation that will lead you out of the city, and there are routes put in place so you can find your way. I also have contacts that are friends that I trust wholehearted that will be waiting for you outside the proximity of the city. Once you meet up with them all of you will travel together to the surface."

"Oh this is heavy Gregory. What if I'm stopped along the way?" Ashley was doing her best not to allow her mind to stall with all of the new information. She was definitely terrified of the change of events but had to stay focused on the larger picture. She had been trained to do so during her bag'em and tag'em missions so life and death situations were not unknown to Ashley Magnus.

"As I have said dear; what I have done is create identification documents in case you get stopped and have to show proof of who you are. I am a highly respected doctor here in Praxis and have worked with many outlying tribal clans that help aid in researching the medical properties found it plants outside of the city. Many work alongside me throughout the year and come forth into the city with samples they have collected for my research. And now, as of today, you are one of them."

"Researcher—plants—gotcha," she said nervously.

"So," he tilted his head slightly to her, "you will now be known as a _Boletus Goobanius giganteum__ harvester_," he said with a prideful smile.

Ashley's blue eyes widened with bewilderment. Oddly enough, even with the severity of her current state and situation, she almost laughed.

"And what in the world is that?"

"They are a rare species of giant mushroom trees," Gregory answered. "They hold many medical benefits to our society, both for human and Abnormal. I have a number of medical researchers and volunteers that help aid me in bringing back samples."

_God if only Henry was here to hear this _she thought. She remembered how Henry hated mushrooms. It was all she could do to not unravel into delusional hysterics. There was so much distress surrounding her right now she felt that if she actually let it consume her; she'd lose all mental control of her wits. Or what was left of them.

"Seriously what's next," she retorted, "running into a little gnome named Mr. Mushroom?"

Gregory's expression stilled; obviously unaware of the connection.

"Sorry, child product of the 80's cartoon revolution; My Little Pony flashback."

Gregory smiled at her enthusiasm. "If you do get stopped Ashley just give them your identification papers and tell that you are part of a research team that works alongside me, and that you had an appointment with me in the city and are returning back to the outlands. Once they see your papers and hear your reason, they should let you be on your way."

"Sounds easy enough."

"It should be just that."

"I have also downloaded everything I have learned about your condition to a tablet including all of your blood work since you arrived here. When you find your way back to Helen give it to her. It can only be accessed by you and your mother by ways of DNA imprinting scans." He reached over to the small table beside him and grabbed the small thin black shiny device. "All you have to do is tap the top and bottom screen at the corners like so," he tapped the corners to demonstrate, "it will immediately register your DNA and allow you access to the information detailed inside."

Ashley's eyes lowered as she stared at the tablet. "Okay, whatever you want me to do I'll do it." Her voice trembled with the thought of walking around in an unknown city all alone. Gregory had made her feel safe and loved again. It was in the short lucid moments during her UK and her own Sanctuary destructions that she had found herself cognitive of what she was doing; or rather forced to do. Even in that brief nanosecond of such chaos she felt remorse, guilt, and an overwhelming aversion for herself. Gregory had helped ease that tension ever so slightly. And now she was being forced to leave him.

To carry on alone.

"Ashley this was not the outcome I had planned for us. But it is not safe for you here. There is a threat within the city and the scale of this has all of the citizens of Praxis in a growing panic. There is a detailed map that will guide you to the surface and you will also be able to contact anyone via this device; just like a cellular phone. This device is more powerful than any communication device you have on the surface. You should be able to contact Helen and the Sanctuary once you break the surface."

Ashley bit her lip trying to stop the quivering threatening to expose a river of tears. She blinked the tears back only to have the salty drops release in heavy streams down her cheeks.

"Oh my dear," he voice wavered into a low whisper, "everything will be alright."

Ashley choked back a sob and grimaced as she leaned forward, arms open.

She latched her arms around Gregory and held him in a tight hug. "Thank you," she cried softly. "I don't know what would have become of me if it wasn't for you." Ashley knew she had only been under her grandfather's care for a short amount of time. She also knew there was much to be learned concerning her current state. For she had a Hollow Earth element bonded to her teleporting genes. Not to mention she was teleporting across the vast expanse of space-time.

Gregory felt the tears welling in his eyes. "I only wish could have done more. Helen is a brilliant scientist and has many resources available to her. I know she will be able to help you when you get back to the Sanctuary. I am sorry I cannot accompany you as I am unable to trek through the valleys and terrain that will follow your journey. I would only slow you down."

Ashley choked a heavy sob, "My mom is so lucky to have you as a father Gregory," she whimpered. "As I am to have you as a grandfather."

Gregory gave a soft kiss to her cheek. "Dearest, I know you are Helen's very heart and soul. I know she has never stopped being proud of your since the moment she gave birth to you. You are one special young lady my dear."

Ashley just closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. She pictured herself home and wrapped up on the couch in her mother's study as she would do whenever she was feeling down about something. It was had always been her favorite place in all of the Sanctuary.

She just wanted to be home.

"But for now seeing that we only have a few hours till morning," Gregory continued, "I want to change your bandage and check your wound again. Your body was slow to stop the bleeding and that has had me a little worried Ashley."

"Yeah, me too."

"Your recent blood tests have revealed less Sanguine cells than before. I attributed this to the slower healing process in your body."

"And you can't figure out why?"

"Do you remember that unknown dark fluid that was found in the nucleus of all of your Sanguine cells?"

"Yes."

"Well it looks like the fluid is attacking the nucleus and killing off the cells now. The tests show that a percentage of your Sanguine red and white blood cells have destabilized and died off. I have assumed that the unknown fluid is the culprit. This result is proof of your slow healing process and if it continues it may reverse all of your Vampiric traits entirely."

"Well, that is a good thing right?"

"It may be. Such traits are extremely hard to control in the early stages of its evolution. As you have shown here while under considerable stress. I theorize that they have been destabilizing since your arrival."

"Information overload," she whined as she squinted her eyes. "Just tell me that this information is in the tablet for my mom."

"Yes it is dear."

"Sweet," she groaned.

She pressed her fingers back to her forehead at the throbbing in her head as she watched observantly as Gregory grabbed some medical supplies from small wooden side table he had placed next to the sofa..

Ashley nested back further into the back cushion momentarily closing her eyes. Her shoulder did hurt like hell. She had been shot clear through. Luckily the bullet failed to hit major arteries or bone.

"Oh, I was meaning to inform you that I picked you up some clothes for you. I know you will be pleased as I have brought back clothes that are more fitting for you. I do declare having to wear man's clothing must be rather uncomfortable." Gregory tried to lighten the mood with a tone almost amusing.

Ashley giggled shyly.

"Yeah, I appreciate that. I don't think I've ever worn man trousers in my life. Good thing we are about the same height."

Gregory laughed. "I have left the clothing garments on the chair, which is what my researching colleagues wear," he raised his hand to point to the chair beside her, "whenever you feel up to it they are there. I also have footwear appropriate for dense terrain. I matched the size of those boots you were wearing pervious."

"Please burn those for me and every last piece of the Cabal get up," she insisted.

"Already done dear; we have an incinerating machine down below. I only found it sensible to do so."

"You rock." Ashley smiled at the mutual thought of burning the past away. Even if it was just fabric.

"Indeed," Gregory noted.

"Now," he said raising a soaked gauze bandage to her, "let us see how much you've healed."

Ashley's long sleeve shirt had been cut with precision; a small open square hole to allow for a bandage to clot the wound. It was the same way on her back.

Ashley watched as he pulled free the taped bandage from her skin.

As the bandage was removed it revealed that the bullet shot wound had almost now completely healed. Surface wise at least.

"Well look at that. Are you still in pain dear?"

"Oh yeah, when I move my arm." Ashley grimaced again as she felt a sharp pain surge in her shoulder as she shifted slighted to straighten her posture.

"Alright, most obvious your muscle should take a longer time to regenerate in your current state. Skin not so much."

Ashley tried her best to relax as Gregory cleaned the skin and re-bandaged the wound. Of all the chaotic experiences that she has come to face, at least she had the aid of a family member by her side. Having her grandfather with her helping her relieved some stress and fear that was attempting to push her over the edge emotionally.

"Alright, now let's check the entry wound on your back."

"Oh I have a feeling this is gonna hurt."

"Just take it easy dear," he said caringly.

Ashley leaned forward she Gregory checked the back shoulder wound. Pulling back the other bandage he found surprisingly that the surface wound had all but healed.

"Good news Ashley. The entry wound has completely healed."

"Awesome," she groaned with a forced half smile.

"I believed your wounds are healing from the first initial entry location. As if you heal in congruence to the path of the injury."

"Remind me to explain this to mom when I get back to her. Any medical stuff like this she'd want to know about." Ashley kept her words hopeful. She would not give up her fight to get back to her mom. Even if it was the last thing she did.

"Gregory, can I ask you something, random as I may be?"

Gregory smiled as he put a hand to her shoulder helping her lean back into the sofa. "Of course my dear."

"I want to write a letter to my mom," she said hesitantly, "you know, just in case something happens to me."

Gregory felt a deep sorrow fill his heart. He could hear the fragility in her voice and her solemn expression.

"Do you have a pen and paper I could use," she asked meekly.

"Why of course my child," he said as he got to his feet placing the dirty bandages and gauze in small black bag. "But I must confess I am a man of nostalgia and only have an ink quill for you to use."

"Now you sound like my mom," Ashley gave a reserved smile. "She always kept her old ones. I'll have to tell her about how nostalgic you both are when I get back to her."

"Uh, oh yeah, I also wanted to ask. You do have showers here in Praxis?"

Gregory laughed as he hobbled away. "Bathroom is behind you to the right. Towels are on the shelves behind the door. And I will get you the paper, quill and ink you queried."

Ashley watched him hobble away balancing carefully on his cane. She felt empathy for him and though Gregory was a man that undoubtedly would not want one to pity his condition; she felt sorry for him still.

"Thank you Gregory," she mumbled low but loud enough for him to hear. Tears slowly finding their way from the pools in her eyes. "Thank you for everything you have done for me."

"You are most welcome Ashley," he replied as he turned back and gave her a wink. "Everything will be alright. I assure you." And with that he disappeared around the corner hallway.

Ashley sat still for a minute and analyzed the dressing over her wound and let her mind drift to the last few hours in Praxis and from being home. She was scared at the unknowns. She feared the worst that something may happen to her. She glanced over at the pile of folded clothes and at the black boots on the floor. She then looked over to the large window that was lit dimly by the street lamps below. So had so much to think about. But right now she just wanted to take a long hot shower. Afterwards she would write a letter to her mom in hopes that the words would ease her heart if she ultimately failed to come back to her.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: Thanks again for the reviews so far! I truly appreciate them all. :)

Samisim's last review got me thinking on a theme that I was hesitant in adding but decided to branch out from that after it spawned another idea. Thank you for the review Samisim I credit you for the Ashley sidebar story which I will introduce in this chapter. :)

As always please feel free to review if you like my story/chapter. Thanks guys! :)

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

The glow from the tall street lamps below filled the empty avenue with a soft orange haze.

Ashley had her forehead pressed against the thick cool glass as she stood taking in the view of the surrounding city of Praxis and the street below.

A kaleidoscope of blues, oranges, and yellows danced in the dim light of the city and Ashley wondered how she'd even walk the distances without getting lost in its wonders.

The view was so captivating.

Cobblestone etched the length of the street giving a clear portrait of what Old London must have looked like.

Of all the chaos engulfing her world the very notion of standing in such a wondrous city was not lost on her completely. And soon she would be strolling down the streets following a digitized map to guide her far away from its borders.

She stepped back from the large window and ran her fingers through her wet hair. Never in her life had she been so relieved to take a long hot shower.

She slowly tried to raise her right arm into a swinging motion as if to jab a punch out in front of her. Her shoulder muscle still felt a bit weak and as she tightened her fist and pulled back at the elbow; a sharp shock spread to the end of her fisted hand.

"Crap," she growled as the throbbing pain once again surged through the muscles of her arm and shoulder blade.

She returned her gaze back down into the empty street surprised not to find mobs running about and trifling to any and all transportation routes available.

Again she pressed her forehead against the thick glass and closed her eyes. She was thinking of the distance she must travel—the odd terrain she would encounter and every what if of the dangers potentially obstructing her journey.

God she wished she had Henry with her.

She did however find her clothing far more comfortable at least. She was wearing a black form fitting long sleeve with a hoody. The material felt like a polyester and nylon cloth. Finite diamond designs weaved the whole of the clothing garment. To her it felt like she was wearing a thin layer of a Kevlar bullet proof vest.

She figured it was water proof as the few remaining droplets from her hair pooled and failed to be absorbed in the black lining. Her pants were black; much like winter ski attire. They almost had a leather quality about them as well she thought to herself. The quality of the outfit left for great flexibility which was the first thing she noticed of it—definitely designed for maximum mobility.

"Ashley, I prepared breakfast for you."

Ashley turned around to find Gregory carefully hobbling towards the sofa with a tray of food. "I know you must have an appetite worthy of a large feast by now." Gregory sat down on the end of the sofa and placed the tray on the small side table.

"Here child, have a seat and eat."

Ashley turned and made her way back to the sofa, "Oh thank you. I'm starved."

Gregory tapped a black back pack set beside the sofa with his walking cane, "I have packed you a bag of small equipment for your journey to the surface. Inside you have pre-packaged food, water, and a light source. In your portable device tablet I also have included fresh water locations for when you run low on water. They are found along the path I have made for you," he smiled confidently as she sank into the sofa with a low grunt from the aching in her shoulder.

"That sounds peachy," she smiled. She took a second to analyze the food on the white plate for her.

"So, what am I about to eat?"

"Ah, this meat is much like ham."

"Whoa," she sighed cautiously.

"_Much like_?"

"It comes from a related species to our pig. Tastes just as delicious too I might add. High in protein and calories and you will need that as you travel."

"Okay, ham it is. Right now I'm so hungry I don't care what I'm eating." Ashley took her fork and plunged it into the meat and took a bite.

"Yep," she mumbled with a mouthful, "just like ham."

And it did taste just like ham—the kind of ham that is glazed in honey that always adorned the dinner table during the holiday season at the Sanctuary.

Ashley continued to chew the sweet morsel. The meat was tender but not tough—as if it had been baked in an over for hours.

Gregory pointed to the next food item on the plate. "And this is our best version of scrambled eggs. You will not be hungry for a while my dear."

Ashley refused to ask what kind of creature laid the eggs or even imagined what it looked like. She just took his words as they were. She didn't know she was this hungry.

She nodded in agreement and closed her eyes to the relief of eating again. Not to mention how great the Praxis food actually tasted. A full stomach always helped the aptitude of one's mental awareness. Ashley hadn't remembered the last time she ate solid food. She figured with the many Cabal manipulations she either hadn't required food or the nutrients had been forced into her by ways of a feeding tube or through an IV.

"I also mixed a liquid vitamin and nutrient supplement into your glass of water here," Gregory pointed to the glass of water beside her plate. "It should be absorbed by your body slowly which will allow you to stay hydrated for longer."

Ashley swallowed the bite of ham and licked her lips, "at least I can bet on a full stomach to start off. Can't promise everything will stay down though, you know. Nerves and all," she shrugged.

"Understandably dear," he said lowering his voice.

Gregory was humbly impressed by how Ashley had adapted to her situation here in Praxis with him. She had had her moments, yes, but with every bit of detailed information he had given her about her current state—she had listened; she had grasped it. She had kept each piece of information ordered and understood that an end result was what they both were working on—together.

If only they knew Helen was on the receiving end, somewhere within the very fabric of space-time.

Ashley then took a sip of her water as Gregory bent down and pulled up the black back pack from the floor. He unzipped the top and pulled out what looked like a firearm.

Ashley's eyes opened wider with a grin of enthusiasm as she put her fork down.

"Nice piece. May I?"

"I know you must be knowledgeable in the practice of firearms. Helen would not have let you become a part of her work otherwise. After all you are a Magnus." He handed the gun over to her carefully with a smile.

Gregory could see a fiery glint sparkle in Ashley's eyes. Obvious she was well accustomed to weaponry.

"It fires a high energy beam in sequence to every time you pull the trigger. There are two settings; low and high power. High power will kill with one single shot and low power stuns."

"Sort of like an electric shock right?"

"Precisely."

"Henry would freak," she nearly squealed her excitement, "it's like a zat."

"A zat?"

Ashley huffed her Sci-Fi side proudly. "Wormhole Extreme; it was me and Henry's favorite show growing up. They had guns that could do the same."

Gregory smiled as he watched her take in every detail of the weapon.

Ashley took the gun into her hand and balanced it in her palm. She lowered and raised her left hand as she became accustomed to its weight. The gun had a shiny black surface with a vague pulsating blue light on each side of the handle.

"Looks like a 9 mil."

"That was the very base design for it. We have many different weapons here in Praxis but I like to manufacture my own weaponry."

Ashley gripped the weapon steadily and pointed to the window with her good arm. Good thing she was left handed she thought.

"Weight gives for a quick draw; your design?"

"It is," he said proudly.

"Nothing like a patented Magnus gun huh," she noted.

"The very best my dear."

She eyed the weapon at her sightline raising and lowering the gun inspecting the weighted balance once more.

"So you said it fires an energy beam?"

"Yes. There is a rotating frequency unit inside that pulls from the normal gravitational force exerted by the planet. It powers the weapon. So you will never have to charge nor reload. The energy beams are forced out by a small radiating power cell that collapses the normal electrostatic current found all around us and coverts it into directed energy waves. Just point and shoot. I know you can do that," he winked.

Ashley continued to eye the gun and analyze the shiny black seamless outer casing. The pulsing light was a teal color and pulsed vertically down the handle of the gun on one single column. She let a smirk line her lips as she thought about Henry and his cool toys. He would definitely be impressed with the sight of her knew Magnus gun.

"Alright my dear that is the last of your belongings needed for your journey. Finish eating your breakfast while I check the reports from Praxis. We need to make sure the safest routes for your departure."

"Sounds like a plan," Ashley nodded as she placed the gun back into the back.

Ashley ate the rest of her breakfast and wiped clean her plate. She put on her socks and then laced her black boots. She leaned back into the sofa again and took out the black tablet from the pack and tapped the front screen as she was instructed to power it on. A message appeared on the screen. The language was obviously Latin.

"Gregory," she called as he walked from around the corner hallway, "Yes dear."

"What does this say, it's in Latin?"

"Ah, that is for your mother. She will understand it when she reads it. It's just a message for her from me."

"Oh that reminds me. I finished writing my letter to my mom. Do you have a place you can keep it safe?"

"My dear, you are talking to a scientist and somewhat of an inventor if I don't say so myself," he grinned cheekily.

"Here," he walked over and sat beside her. "My walking stick; it is also used to hide highly illegal plant specimens for my research. Such substances are banned because of their uses in abusive drug concoctions but I have found that they help healing the rarest of Abnormals we have here. " He reached to the silver handle and twisted it open. "I can place it in here. It will be safe and with me the whole time. It also only opens to a specific DNA imprint. I will adjust it to open for your mother as well if ever the situation may arise."

"Cool," she said obviously shocked by the technological enhancement, "you're like Houdini." She flashed a genuine smile of being impressed—the very smile she gives Henry when he finally fixes a weapon to work properly.

Gregory chuckled. "Here in Praxis not much is kept under the radar, so at times one must compromise."

"Amen to that."

"And thank you," she spoke more directly with a deeper tone, "I just want my words to be given to her incase, you know." He voice trailed off into silence.

The uncertainties of life are never fair. She knew this. Sanctuary life had afforded a look into the very heart of humanity but did not come without a price. Enemies and dangers lurking around every corner were a constant threat. But it was the only life Ashley had ever known. And the only life that would make her happy.

"I understand my child," he said softly, "no one wants to be a memory in a Eulogy so young."

Ashley kept her gaze on the dimly lit windows on the facing wall before them. "I just wish she knew I was here with you. God it would make things so much easier on her."

"I know dearest. I wish that too. We both have had to leave your mother in ways that she does not understand fully. But you are on a journey to return to her and I have made every effort to make sure that happens. I just want you to be careful not to teleport anymore. We still do not know the lingering side effects or a time line you may teleport into."

"Yeah, having jumped backwards in time and learning the Big Guy died must have been so hard on her. I just can't imagine how she has dealt with that along with my disappearance. God I can't even come to terms with it myself. It all feels like a dream, all of it." Ashley rubbed her forehead and she closed her eyes to the memories. "I don't even know what to feel," she sighed the words.

"It is still a shock for you Ashley. In time you will come to terms."

Ashley sighed, choosing not to respond with words.

"I know your manservant cared deeply for you both. In time truth always reveals itself. I know you will find answers to your questions when you get back home. Just concentrate on staying focused of the objective. Your mother is waiting for you even if she doesn't know it yet. I am just sorry I cannot send you there now this very instant."

"Me too," she answered looking back at him, her eyes cresting with a watery flow of emotion.

Gregory smiled gently patting her knee. "No one can say we Magnus' don't lead interesting lives."

"You can say that again."

"Ashley, I know there are dangers ahead for both of us. I also know that I may not hear from you or your mother for a very long time. Same for me in getting back to the surface. But Ashley," he reached and took her hand in his, "I want you to know that I will do everything I can to get back to visit. I am the Ambassador for Hollow Earth now and I will ultimately find a way to get a message through to Helen. But for the life of me I just hope it does not include any grave information about you my dear."

"We Magnus' are fighters Gregory. Until my last breath I will fight to get back to my mom. Just know that. Don't forget it."

Gregory reached up and gently wiped the tears that had fallen out of Ashley's eyes.

"Alright dear, I will not forget."

Ashley was getting anxious knowing that in seconds she will walk out into the unknowns of Praxis beginning her journey home.

"Alright my dear, I have to meet Ranna, the High Council member of Praxis for a political assembly meeting. Let us not make haste on our own missions and take our leave."

"Okay," Ashley said with a hint of distress lacing her voice.

She reached to the pack and snapped the back pack on as she stood to her feet. She placed the hand held device in her left pocket of her pants pocket and zipped up the jacket to her neckline.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot to mention. Your attire is completely water and heat proof. You should be protected from 160 F to negative 45 degrees."

Ashley pulled a strap out from the back pack and tightened the waist band. "Uh, wow. Okay, so as long as I don't fall into a raging magma river or an Everest storm I'll be fine. Got it."

Gregory chuckled as they walked down the hallway and over to the glass elevator overlooking the center of Praxis. Blues and oranges beamed across the horizon reflecting across the glass in waves as they slowly descended down to the street level. The whole of the city looked like a Christmas snow globe just without the snow.

"God Gregory it's so beautiful," she said placing her hand to the glass. "How could anyone threaten such a wondrous place?"

"The world has its wonders and beauty, but some never see either. Rogue parties are something that will always be a danger to humanity. But there will always be good that will fight it. Like your mother has done with her Sanctuary Network and us here on the Council of Praxis."

A low hissing hum sounded as the elevator stopped to the street level. Gregory pushed a circle button opening the sliding glass doors into an entry arch made of cream brick with a cobblestone entrance leading out into the street.

They both walked out into the street; Ashley walking slowly beside her grandfather as he hobbled slowly on his cane.

"Ashley I am so proud of you," he said glancing over to her. "I am so sorry I have not been there for you and Helen. My work here in Praxis has been too important to let go and I hope one day I will be able to explain it all to you both."

"Gregory. That doesn't matter. Don't be sorry. We all have lives to lead. Wherever they may be," Ashley waved her left hand up gesturing towards the city around them. "I will tell mom how you have helped me. I know she will be able to work with the information you have downloaded for her on the tablet. So, no worries okay?"

"You are your mother's daughter I do declare."

"Damn straight."

A chuckle and a laugh sounded in unison on the empty street as they reached the end of the cobblestone avenue.

Gregory and Ashley stopped at the intersection of the street—just feet from where Gregory first found her that night.

He placed a hand to her shoulder. "Ashley, you are a smart and amazing young lady. I am proud to call you my granddaughter. Helen has done a wonderful role in bringing you up into this world. Tell her that I am proud of her. And always have been."

"I will," she whispered.

Ashley leaned in and hugged him tight. "Thank you for all that you have done. I will look forward to you visiting and any message you can send to us."

"Yes dear, I will do my best to contact you both. You take care of yourself now."

"You too grandpa." Ashley pulled away and gave a bright smile, eyes once again heavy with tears.

"See you later," she said in a gentle optimistic tone.

Gregory smiled, winked and nodded. Ashley kept a smile to her face as she walked away in the opposite direction behind him.

It was time for her to go home.

With that Gregory began his walk to Ranna's Council Chambers just a few streets away. With a heavy heart he wished he had the means to just drop her on the doorstep of the Sanctuary and into the arms of her mother.

With that Ashley began her walk to a transportation pod station a few street intersections away.

The tall buildings were bathed in an orange hazy fog that blanketed the spaces all around. As Ashley walked down the empty dimly lit street, her black boots clanking on the stonework and the rustling of her back pack were the only sounds echoing in the street. That and a few aching groans from the pain in her shoulder.

She began mapping mental images of the tall buildings surrounding her and the intertwining masonry that made for the walls of the sliver colored brickwork. Large cherry colored doors with wide entry steps adorned the residential avenue of this section of Praxis. The skyline above was a blend of orange and cream and looked as if it was a lingering mist cloud rolling across a sky.

Ashley took notice of no mail boxes but of slats in the doors and small black boxes bolted to the sides of the front walls. It was a prefect replica of Old City London. A more modernized one at that.

Ashley pulled her tablet out, tapping the screen to reveal her detoured route across Hollow Earth. A red blinking dot was characterized as her present location and it was located in a perfected detailed color image of the city. It was as if she was looking at a live satellite photo but with an incredible zoom.

A street across the intersection ahead and a turn to her left would give her access to a transport pod leading her out into the outlands.

She placed the device back into her left pocket and zipped it closed.

She returned her eyes to the street once more and continued to look upon the magnificent shiny city.

Tall arched brick frames cradled vast open windows like the ones she had seen in Gregory's home. Each could almost be as detailed as stain glass with how the thin metal etchings separated the larger and small glass inlays. The avenue was clean without even a hint of dust or dirt. Even the air felt misty and clean in this under the Earth subterranean capital. The quiet and reflective state she found herself in almost felt as if she was walking through a board in a Holodeck Program.

It just seemed too unreal to grasp entirely.

A barely noticeable static charge was humming through the air as she made her way down the avenue. Ashley took notice of the odd feel of the air around her almost immediately upon walking out of the glass elevator with Gregory. She had experienced similar situations when Henry dragged her into his lab to show her his newly engineered weapons.

But this was different.

The apprehension was sending a deep cold shiver through her spine.

And as her body reacted to the concern brimming in the air; an ear piercing thunder moved over the city of Praxis without as much of a hint of warning.

The distant echo quickly welled its rumble and in a blink of an eye a white light flashed out from the horizon like an expanding bubble; wickedly growing from its initial surge point. The ground responded in succession and erupted into a bone rattling quake shaking the whole of the city and buildings into a violent tug of war with gravity.

The thunderous roar of buildings rocking on their foundations and glass exploding into the streets sent Ashley sprawling down onto the cold cobblestone street beneath her.

The thunder ripped through the air as the sound continued to increase gradually and in congruence to the massive shaking of the city's surface.

Ashley screamed as she crumpled down to one knee, spinning around to watch the sky light bleed into a blurred pastel luminosity. Squinting her eyes she surveyed an expanding bubble spread out over the vast distances above and across the horizon.

Before she could even register what her eyes were witnessing; the proximity wave of the blinding white bubble expanded over her with lightning speed and such a concussive force; the sonic rim launched her airborne into a chaotic spin of holy terror.

She had no time to think. The last thought lingering to her consciousness was; if ever there was a time to teleport; it was now.

Ashley's body ricocheted off the stone ground like a ragdoll into the dense electrically charged air without a destination in mind.

* * *

><p>Explosions filled the air like rapid gun fire. And gun fire was exactly what Ashley heard as her blue eyes opened into a white wash of bright daylight and a rainstorm of white stone. Large blasts rumbled the hard road beneath her as she pushed herself up to lean into the wall next to her.<p>

The gun fire sounded odd—unlike what she was used to. Machine gun fire and semi-automatic sounds were implanted into her mind. She knew each being long range and short range. High powered; low powered.

But the array of nonstop bangs sounded antiquated; out of tune to her.

But above the flood of gun fire she heard another sound. And though she'd never seen one fired personally; she knew the sound of a cannon when she heard one.

Stone erupted into a spray of shards as one directed cannon ball tore into the wall above her sending shiny white shrapnel to rain over her in both pebble and brick size chunks.

She screamed herself into a less kinetic stand still and took to her feet and started running; her black back pack bouncing hard against her back as she sprinted away from the danger.

Gun fire continued to blast through the air chipping away at the tall white walls on either side of her. Small blasts of white powder and sharp pieces of limestone road beneath her feet blasted up upon contact.

The air was cold and compressed hard into her lungs. She immediately became aware of the difference in elevation and found her realization finding proof as she darted her gaze at the mountain range that was cradling a white limestone city around her.

Her face felt dirty and scraped as the small particles of shrapnel had grazed the left side of her face. She could feel warm streams of blood draining down ever so slightly over her left eye and down the left side of her neck.

She looked ahead to see a long open pathway extending half the length of the valley and ending at what looked like a temple. The whole of the creation she was running through was like a beacon of light in the bright sun—an intense white glow shining in every direction. Only a few clouds lingered over the mountains reaching farther into the blue sky.

The sound of bullets spraying in and around her sounded like rows of firecrackers that one shoots off on the countdown to midnight for the New Year. Limestone all around just burst and exploded in thunderous roars as she screamed and ran ahead looking for any cover she could find. But it was just an open narrow pathway.

She kept her right arm pressed into her chest for it was impossible to let it swing out as she ran. Her blonde hair bounced over her shoulders and her blue eyes trained at the environment for means of escape.

Just as she glanced to a shadow in the right side of her peripheral vision, hands grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a revolving stone door. As she was pulled into the darkness a body fell onto her cradling her from the eruptions of stone exploding through the road where she was just running through.

Stone on stone creaked as the square wall slid and closed, drowning the unrelenting bombardment of the hail storm of bullet and canon fire.

"Ahhhh!" Ashley yelled as she rolled over to her side and jumped to her feet. She stepped back and pulled her weapon from her pants pocket raising it to the man that was slowly starting to stand to find balance.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell is going on," she gasped heavily, her breathing erratic and wild.

A man dressed in a dark pants suit and dark black vest raised his head as he found his footing. His dark thick hair was parted on his left side and was the length of his jawline. Ashley's split second observation guessed he was in his late 20's, medium build, with a caring worried half smile lacing his face. His face also shared a strong jawline and a nose that reminded her of Will.

But his eyes were wide and pupils full open to the whole of his eye.

The color tinted a fierce dark red.

He was a Vampire.

"What are you doing on the surface," he asked exasperated but intensely worried—obviously shocked to find her out in the open.

Ashley kept her gun raised and studied his body language and facial expression. He was not standing in an attack stance nor had his hands upstretched to do so. Again she noticed his clothing was all black, even his black oxford looking long sleeve shirt with black shiny shoes matched.

"Who are you?" She screamed as she blinked away the blood dripping over her left eye. She shook her head slightly to the left as she stared back at him.

He blinked his eyes in total confusion as he took in the sight of one stressed out blonde. He started to feel like she really had no idea what was going on.

"I WILL NOT ASK AGAIN!" She spat threateningly. Her voice echoed loudly into the open chasm—her voice ringing deep with uncontrolled fury.

The man's red eyes dissipated and retracted steadily revealing dark brown eyes in the still light of a lighted torch grounded into the wall behind him. It revealed a dark grey stone and a huge stairwell disappearing into a vast open lair.

He kept his arms raised in a non-threatening manner and stepped back just one step so that the wall nearly brushed against his back. Ashley watched him carefully taking note of his retraction of his black long nails.

"My name is Malak," his voice was mildly deep, foreign, but fit his face Ashley thought. His accent was French.

"I am one of the few that have survived the massacre." He had lowered his voice to a calm trusting tone.

Ashley continued to breathe hard as her huffing echoed against his kind spoken words. She never waved in lowering her gun as she kept her right arm neatly bent across her chest—her expression still wincing from the burn of the wounded muscle pain.

"And what exactly does that mean? WHAT is going on here," she cried out desperately.

The man's lips parted into a jaw drop as he stood silent for a moment. His mind attempting to find a reason why she was asking the questions she was; in the place where she was.

Soft echoes continuously sounded from outside the thick walls reminding them both of the relentless assault raining down around them.

Ashley tightened her grip on the Hollow Earth weapon keeping her finger firmly on the trigger.

"The attack began the day before last. Our home," tears flushed the man's gentle brown eyes as his face contorted into a deep frown, "our empire, our holy city, Bhalasaam is falling."


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note: Aw, thank you for the reviews so much; you guys rock! Okay, I finished with these next two chapters sooner than I expected and decided to post them together. Next one after these will be the continuation of Ashley's story. Hang in there for a few more chapters; I promise happy moments to come afterwards with much more to read. :)

Edited author's note: I changed the summary of Start of Days to reflect more of the heart of my story. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 12<p>

John continued to stare at the hard wood floors. He had been released of Jack the Ripper—the vile Abnormal that had consumed him only to become mortal again.

"May I enquire one good thing to come of my returned mortality; my degradation of the Source Blood effects to my body?" He asked in a very soft voice.

"Yes John." Helen's heart sank in her chest as she too realized his days were once again numbered.

"At least I have the care of the greatest of capable physicians by my side." He let an amenable smile grace his face.

Helen absorbed every single word he said and let this moment consume her. She had lost him once and her whole world had been changed because of it. She had lost her chance at a family and had delayed Ashley's birth for nearly a hundred years.

And in another way, her world had been changed again by following Adam.

John looked over to Helen, his lips tight with a hint of sorrow. But deep down since the moment he had found out her location; only one question seemed to linger.

"Do you want me here Helen," he asked bluntly.

Helen's body slightly shuddered with the sadness in his soft rumbled tone.

Helen got up and walked over to him, bent down and pulled him into a hug as she knelt down in front of the chair. John leaned down in little ways, reaching out his arms and embraced her close. Tears escaped his blue eyes and streamed down the sides of his face.

Helen exhaled a sigh as she held him.

"John, I can never imagine the horror that you have had to endure all these years. I simply cannot even pretend to have the slightest understanding," she rested her face to the side his head, "And I am so sorry you had to live with that pain."

John continued to hold her close around her waist, resting his head on the top of her shoulder. His tears lightly soaking the white wool threads of her sweater.

For too many years to count he had heard that monstrous voice inside his head. For so long he had battled against it trying to overcome its murderous influences. But in the end it would almost always bring him back into the dark depths of violent wakes—but no more.

He was finally free from it all—paying the price of mortality.

"Helen, please just answer me this," he whimpered in a low whisper, "do you want me to stay?"

Helen had tried so very hard to keep her emotions in check, but the tears began to fall again and she buried her face into the warm skin of his shoulder.

Helen didn't really know what to say. Two people from the future living through the past—their past, together.

This was one scenario she failed to imagine in the mere seconds after deciding to follow Adam into the past. But perhaps she could manage better with him by her side. Life in the hills of Vienna Austria was trying at best. And to have another set of hands would be an advantage, but not in the least to say she couldn't handle it. Helen Magnus was one of the strongest, if not the strongest woman in history—literally.

"John," she said gently, "I,… I know what you are thinking and I feel the same way in that you now can be yourself and live freely. But," she wiped her tears away with the outer side of her white wool sweater, "But John,…I believe it is for the best, if we both lead separate lives."

It was a hard thing to say. She didn't think she could say it. But she did. As much as she loved him, and he her, her heart was telling her to keep on the path of solitude. And it was now that she was starting a mission of her own—a mission to save someone's life.

_Ashley._

_My daughter._

_Ashley is my only concern now. All of my effort and focus must be on her so I can find a way to save her. _

The hurt of Ashley's death would drive her for the next one hundred years and she would not settle until she succeeded.

Helen could feel his chest rise against hers as he took in a deep breath. She held him closer.

"John, just know that I care for you deeply. I always have. I just,…" her voice trailed off for a moment as she hiccupped a sob, "I just cannot do this. Please try to understand." It was almost a plea.

John closed his eyes and let his forehead rest into her shoulder. He had always been happiest when with Helen. And his words of loving her for all eternity held more truth than she would ever know.

John wanted to stay. He also wanted to help aid her in whatever truth was found it that mysterious letter. That still puzzled him deeply but it was not his place to question why or enquire about it.

He only wanted another chance at a life with her.

But deep down he had no choice but to try and understand her reasons.

John slowly started to rock her in his arms.

He had missed this; the mere simplicity of caring for someone.

Helen closed her eyes too and just let him rock her in his arms. She let the moment bleed around them and was not afraid to let herself enjoy his touch. They had a romance and friendship that was as old as the early days of Oxford. Even that Elemental Abnormal that had raced through his body didn't have the power to take that memory away. John was the father of her only daughter as well. And that fact had never been lost on her.

After a few moments Helen pulled away and smiled at John as she knelt back on one knee.

John nodded and sighed, "As you wish it to be Helen."

Helen returned a nod and stood inhaling a breath. "But for the time being, you can stay. The weather is unforgiving and I do not want you going back into the world until the weather subsides."

"Thank you Helen," bowing his head slightly.

Helen nodded in approval.

"Of course."

"Now," she points to his black leather jacket and his shirt draped over a chair in front of the fireplace. "Your attire should be dry but I have many wool sweaters that would probably fit you. With no Sanctuary Network to run I have found my old hobby of knitting quite consuming." Helen stood up and walked up to check the jacket and shirt. "I would say go into town and buy you some better clothing but I only stand to take the long trek once a month."

"Yes, Helen, how exactly do you do that? No motor vehicle I know of could travel this terrain."

Helen raised her eyebrows as she picked up the blankets from the floor and placed them on her sofa.

"Horses John, I have four in my stables."

"Stables? Ah, of course I would not have seen your barn amidst the night and snowstorm of late," he nodded.

"It's hardly a barn of sorts but it does provide room for my boarding and storage."

"May I ask the breed of horse you own?"

"I can do better than that," she said walking around her sofa and into the back bedroom.

"Get dressed. I will introduce you myself. And John, I have many wool sweaters I have knitted. I know many will fit you so please feel free to add a few layers. I still can't believe you trekked this far with so few layers of clothing."

"I hadn't expected a storm to appear so soon," he said cheekily.

"Well the mountains and hillsides of Austria can be most unwary during this time of year."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Please do."

John had layered a white cotton long sleeve and white wool sweater under his leather jacket. His socks and boots had been placed by the fireside and had dried in and out completely. Helen gave him a dark blue knitted wool cap before they made their way outside.

As he accepted the cap Helen smiled, "Keep your head warm John."

John tugged the cap over his bald scalp and nodded. "Thank you."

The cold air met them as they both walked out into the cloudless light blue sky of morning. The snow glittered like diamonds across the extending meadow all around. The snow crunched loudly beneath their boots as they walked around the house to the stable behind it.

John walked beside Helen and smiled unknowingly at her as she crossed her arms around her stomach in her long leather jacket, still wearing her buckskin chaps; black hair falling over her shoulders. The experience was new and fresh and calm. The air, the sunlight, the open wild landscape just engulfed his every sense.

It was a freedom and joy he couldn't put to words; only a smile.

"See, my barn," Helen pointed out.

John looked ahead to find a rather nice size outbuilding.

Red and cream brick adorned the sides. A pair of dark wood grained doors locked the front of the barn. Small windows were housed on the side angled towards them. The mahogany colored shutters of the small windows matched the doors. The roof was of a thatched wood pattern like the one atop Helen's home.

"Petite yet classical Helen."

"Yes, it is simple enough."

Sparse snow covered trees dotted around the barn and became more densely forested about a hundred yards behind the barn itself.

Helen reached the barn doors and swung the horizontal latch to open them. Soft neighing sounded as she opened the door letting in bright sunlight.

Six stalls, three on each side, lined the inside of the barn. Beyond it was a large open space storage cluttered with bagged oats and grains and huge imported stacks of hay. Leather English style saddles hung on the inside of the wall to the left above what looked like a heavy wood work bench. Small fairing tools for shoeing sat on shelves above the large table and upon the table top.

Four heads were already protruding from over their stall walls. The wood walls stood about 5 feet high bordering a nice rectangular housing unit. Helen walked up to the stall nearer to the right side reaching her arms out to the horse.

"Hey big fella," she whispered taking the big head into her hands. The horse was a light cream color nearly matching the buckskin chaps she was wearing over jeans. The horse shuffled his head up and down and stomped a foot to the dirt surface below him as he tried to nibble at her fingertips.

"He's beautiful Helen," John said as he laid a gentle hand to fthe horse's forehead rubbing softly between his eyes. John had always been a horse man and loved the thrill of the hunt back in his days in London. The passion had never left him.

"What breed is he," he asked again; simply fascinated by the species.

"Austrian Warmblood," she smiled wide as the horse bent closer letting her take his head into a hug. Helen slipped an apple in his mouth and he brought it back into the stall with him, and then dropped it on the ground to munch the broken bits.

"That's my pretty boy," she whispered as she peeked over the edge of the stall door.

"Big guy isn't he?"

"Indeed he is," he said.

The stomping of ground caught the attention of Helen and John as they turned around them to see three other heads eying for attention from behind the their stalls. Each trying to reach down below the door latch at the bridles hanging on a nail.

"Wait your turn you boys," Helen joked.

"May I enquire his name?"

The cream colored horse raised his head after finishing his apple treat and resting it back into Helen's hands.

"Yes," Helen patted the horse's head, ruffling the blonde haired mane, "this is Sergeant," she then pointed to the second buckskin colored horse in the stall next to him, "and she is Pepper."

"The Beatles, I should have guessed," John chuckled.

"I figured creating humor while living through the past is mandatory."

John let out a rumbled laugh as he walked over to the other horses behind them.

"And these two beauties. Thoroughbreds?"

"Yes."

Their dark onyx coats shined with the light of the sun beaming in through the open barn doors.

Large black eyes blinking as he reached out his head towards John.

"Helen they are magnificent."

"I am blessed to have them really. Ashley and I would ride on our visits to the London Sanctuary. It was not often we did but it was most enjoyable and a nice break from the hard grind of our work. I always wanted to have horses around and living in Old City it was hard not to have a stable or the land within walking distance."

If felt good to mention Ashley around John. At times Helen could barely say her name aloud. But her heart was full of optimism now knowing she had an idea of how to bring her back into her life. And she had a letter to prove part of the puzzle will happen.

John scratched the top of the nose of the horse. "I could only imagine the trials of the work you too had to endure in your practice of saving Abnormals."

Helen turned from Sergeant and walked up to stand next to John resting her arms on the wood sill of the stall door. "I wouldn't trade the days for anything. Life was dangerous but when is it not."

"You do have a point there," he insisted.

Helen watched John as he gently whispered to the horse—a wide cascading grin painted on his face. His touch was ever so soft and kind as he rubbed the length of the horse's head. Helen recognized the familiar brightness of his blue eyes that were once again full of peace and wonder. It had been so long since she'd seen that side to him.

John continued to smile; it had become fixed to his expression the moment he had walked into the stable. He gently ran his fingers across the neck and down the shoulder of the tall thoroughbred.

"Do you plan on racing them?"

"Hardly John. Remember, trying to stay out of history's path," she laughed.

She was starting to enjoy his company in a way she didn't expect.

"Mmm," he rumbled.

"And these creatures, their names. Do pray tell," he asked cheekily.

Helen walked over to the other horse in the next stall desperately being vocal and begging for her attention.

"This is Shakespeare and you are petting Big Ben."

John roared a laugh and found himself consumed with a joy that had not been allowed to grace his soul for over one hundred years. He felt like he had been reborn and rejoiced inside as his senses and mind was seeing, smelling, hearing things around him like it used to be—like it had been before becoming a host.

"Helen that is most amusing I do say."

Helen returned a laugh finding it more amusing by the second. "As I have said," she giggled a huff, "we must keep our humor or else we shall lose our wits."

John spoke his words from behind a grinning smile, "Your naming of the horses would have impressed Watson no doubt."

Helen let her eyes lower as she looked down at the bridle hanging on the nail on the stall door. She had seen James just a few months ago. And yet the feeling of friendship still warmed her heart though she never planned to see him again. It was in a way, a sense of closure for James's death.

"Yes, I think it would have made him laugh. He always was one for the clever and asserting of wits."

Both stood silent for a few long moments and continue to pat the horse's heads.

"Now, I have to feed the kids here so why don't you go back inside and warm us some tea."

John was happy to accept his small order and bowed a head nod her way.

"Of course Helen."

He turned away with a smile, not a protest or hint of a conjecture.

A half hour later Helen walked back into the house kicking her boots against the side of the front wall to break away the snow clinging to her boots like glue.

"Fresh snow fall is much resilient."

John chuckled as he sat in the red chair holding a tea cup in his hand.

"Breakfast, do you feel like eating anything," she asked as she hung her jacket on a wooden peg on the back of the door as she closed it shut.

She walked into the small open kitchen and pulled another log from a stock pile lining the back wall and placed it into the already burning iron stove.

John laughed again.

"Famished."

"Well then, you've come to right place," she laughed earnestly and she opened one of the cherry cabinet doors.

"I have enough preserved canned food and meat to last the whole of the winter. Not to mention an abundant supply of flour and fresh fruit from the market down in town. It is quite remarkable the various sort of food items that is imported there."

"Yes, I had wondered where that apple had come from," he chucked with a grin.

Helen laughed as she pulled out a bag of flour from a top shelf.

"Now, without the need to bury myself in paper work and planning worldwide missions; time has allotted for bread baking to become my specialty."

John couldn't help but rumble a laugh for what seemed like the hundredth time this morning. The very seriousness of their situations had frayed the very ends of their nerves and to have a comic break between them was a much needed diversion between the madness of the present situation. But the pain of her refusal of his companionship still stung at his heart—scared it deeply.

He would do his best not to show how much it was hurting him.

John got up from his chair and walked over to offer his assistance in the food preparations.

If all they did was remain distant friends for the duration of their years in seclusion, he would accept it; it would break his very heart but he would accept it.

* * *

><p>After a breakfast of cured meat and fresh bread Helen and John walked into the living room area once more. Helen sat on the sofa and John sat back down across from her on the red leather chair.<p>

Helen sipped from her small white tea cup and placed it back to the table.

"I have been thinking Helen."

"Yes John."

"Of what I want to accomplish now in this lifetime knowing the freedom I have found again."

"John, just remember; history cannot be a part of who we are. I soon will have to leave Austria before the Germans invade. World Wars will unveil and I will once again be forced to return to the States to begin another chapter of my life—one of many I dare say."

"I was hoping that we could stay in contact by telegram; just to keep apprised of each other's well-being."

"I suppose that will be fine John."

"Then it is settled then," he said with a smile.

"Now," he added," I would very much enjoy a nap. Would you mind if I do so?"

"Not at all," she agreed. "I could use some rest after last night as well," she yawned.

As Helen stood up and picked a few blankets from the pile still on the sofa, John stood.

"Helen, thank you for what you have done for me."

Helen turned while holding a couple wool blankets in her arms. "No, thank you John. You trekked across a country to return my father's cane. You will never know what you have given me."

John watched her intently and noticed her watery eyes.

"You can sleep on the sofa here and if you find yourself hungry again just eat anything you like."

"Thank you Helen," he said again bowing slightly.

"Of course," she said softly as she returned a warm smile.

Helen nodded and walked into her room shutting the door behind her.

Two hours later Helen awoke to an empty house and a letter on her end table.

John had found her ink quills, parchment papers and ink bottles placed on the mantle over the chimney.

She sat down on the sofa and read another noted letter addressed to her.

_Dearest Helen,_

_Life has afforded me another chance at living. I could never express to you what this means to me. And if I may speak bluntly is will not be worth living without you with me. But I will learn to live without your company. Just know that I had to leave without further ado._

_I have taken Shakespeare and have headed to the nearest town and will board him under your name, Heathering. I have merely used him to get back into town. He will be there waiting for you when you return your travels into town once more._

_I wish the very best for you always Helen and hope you find peace in your solitudes._

_Yours truly for all eternity,_

_John_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Six weeks after Ashley teleported out of the Sanctuary with the Source Blood, 2009—_

A hundred years later she still had John's note—but never forgot the day she received a telegram from a mail carrier on horseback two weeks after he had left.

The telegram was from a doctor at a hospital in Vienna. The message detailed that John was suffering from the illness of scarlet fever and would most likely not survive the night.

Helen had immediately pulled out her medical tools and drawn a vile of her own blood, spun it down and packed it into a knapsack and trekked down into the valley to the Vienna hospital.

When she had arrived John was close to death.

She wasted no time and had injected him with her blood hoping his body would react as it did when he first injected the Source Blood back in 1886.

An hour later his fever broke and an hour after that he had discovered he could once again, teleport.

It was a miraculous and unsuspecting turn of events but the Source Blood's effects took hold of John's body again in such a way that his gift was returned. As well as immortality being another eventful catalyst of the injection of Helen's blood.

John was free to travel the expanse of the world once again. With only his thoughts to accompany him.

Time had been kind and Helen had survived the World Wars, famine, and disease that had gripped the world with each passing decade.

John and her had kept their promise and had kept in touch deciding that they would remain friends within the confines of immortality by means of simple telegrams.

And so life moved forward and over one hundred years had passed.

And Helen had endured it all.

* * *

><p>Helen had moved to a province in Canada far from the bustle of life before the World Wars began. It had been a life of unmeasureable solitude but every year reminded her she was one step closer to being able to hold her daughter once again, in her arms.<p>

Alive.

She sat at her kitchen table; papers, electrical equipment, books and motherboards all piled around her.

She had been keeping tabs on her Old City Sanctuary for as long as she could remember. Many of Henry's electronic orders from the last few years had been secretly double invoiced and double shipped to her address. This helped aid and supply her with the required tech needed to render the device needed to bring Ashley back into the world.

She had uploaded her Sim Card files into the laptop and had studied the information over and over again until she had practically memorized it.

Helen sat with a bundle of wires in her hands, hair pulled back in a low bun with a black three quarter sleeved shirt rolled up to her elbows. She was sitting, facing double French doors open to a pristine blue lake nestled beyond a hill of forested trees—the mid afternoon sun shining into her open living room.

Solitude had become somewhat bearable, as long as it had a view of nature at its best.

Helen put the wire bundles back to the table and carefully soldered one into a rectangular motherboard.

After connecting the wire to the hub of her crafted device she clocked in some numbers to her lap top. The device was connected to the laptop by a USB chord and was meticulously being scanned and computed for efficiency.

She had done similar in the town of Carentan with Will. But then she was competing under a countdown and ever growing time dilation field with antiquated technology.

Now in the present she had years to do the same but with a more modified spectrum of technology to work with.

Now she could accomplish more in less time thanks to the advancement of time.

Her laptop beeped as the simulation finished running. As she expected the device was performing perfectly.

She had remarkably discovered that the handle to her father's cane was made of pure Cerellium. She had accidently discovered so after dropping it along with her microscope a few years ago. Trace elements had scraped off onto slide lenses used to view such contents under the instruments resolutions.

It was mere luck.

And it was the purest of substances than the one she had originally wanted to substitute for it as she had done in her time in Carentan.

Cerellium was the one element known to have the capability of manipulating the fabric of time.

She had learned this from Adam Worth and his time nodes.

Helen knew Ashley would survive the teleport. She knew she would find her way to Gregory.

These circumstances she knew indefinitely.

She also knew her daughter's condition had digressed from the cannibalistic Cabal manipulations that caused her to turn against her own mother.

But had no clear answer for it—perhaps it was a side effect from teleporting she thought.

She closed the shiny box and stared at the now finished key to her everything.

She placed a shaking hand to the top of the smooth surface analyzing the powerful device.

For a few long moments she just sat there staring as her mind reeled of regret, optimism, hope, and constant fear of failure.

Helen closed her eyes and pictured her daughter's face.

"I have done my best Ashley," she whispered to herself in the quiet room. "Now I just need you to hold on a little bit longer love."

The information on Helen's Sim Card had been taken from Adam's time node, the Hollow Earth device designed to retrieve Will's memories, and all data from that tragic day Ashley teleported into the vast unknown.

The files held massive amounts of ordered information presented in files, wavelengths and images; messages that Helen hoped would find Ashley in the process.

It was to be that Ashley would wind up in Hollow Earth. But she wasn't meant to die in the destruction of the city. Helen had hoped the means of uploading imaging data would increase the odds of her averting the catastrophe for it was the only place on the planet she believed Ashley could stay clear of time as she knew it.

Only time would tell.

But both Ashley and Helen failed to see the luck that had the potential to reunite them.

Helen got up from the chair and dusted off her black pants from the small bits of metal debris and went to close the French doors leading out to her large back deck.

Turning back she stared at the large oak table full of her soul's hopes and dream. "Alright," she told herself as she grabbed her car keys from the table as she carefully placed the device into a foam lined case. "Time to go see Tesla."

* * *

><p>Helen had waited over a hundred years to make this call. It had been 111 years ago she followed Adam into the past with only a shadow of a plan to work from. She now believed the plan could be successful. It had to be. But she knew there was a chance that it would fail. She didn't want to believe that, and living through another century's time, she had to acknowledge that failure could be a possibility.<p>

But she had come so far. She now had lived 218 years without Ashley in her life —111 years in seclusion and 107 debating on when to bring her into the world. Isolation was something Helen Magnus knew all too well.

And she was tired of it.

She had drawn, calculated, and had bet against the hand of Fate within the chaos of time to find a way to bring Ashley back into her life.

Now it was Nikola who would play the last card.

The moment had come.

Her hands were trembling so bad she could barely dial the numbers on the touchscreen of her iPhone. But slowly she pressed each, one by one, and then heard the first ring. A click announced that he had answered.

"Nikola, its Helen." Her voice quivering from the pressure of what she was going to ask.

"Helen," Nikola said deeply sympathetically.

Helen nearly let her emotions crumble at the very sound of the soft voice on the other end of the line.

"Nikola I need you to listen to me very carefully. I don't have a lot of time to explain this, so I need you to trust me. Do you understand?"

Nikola immediately new something was wrong, other than the fact that they hadn't been able to find a trace of Ashley for the past six weeks.

He had known her for far too long to not realize the trepidation in the way she was saying her words.

"Yes, what is it," he said as he ran his hand through his thick spiked hair.

"I need you to meet me down in my wine cellar, now. Do not tell anyone you have spoken to me. No one. Nikola do you understand this?"

Nikola quickly began walking out of the large library still holding the phone to his ear. "I understand. I'm on my way."

Helen's phone clicked as he hung up.

She leaned back onto a wooden crate, one of dozens propped up against the sublevel brick that adorned the passageways at the bottom of her Sanctuary. She took a deep breath of the cold air surrounding the large basement. She stared at the wet scuba gear, the small underwater propeller machine, and the oxygen tank she had placed at her feet. She tugged at the neck line of her black scuba suit, feeling a little bit of claustrophobia as the weight of many lifetimes had passed with unmeasured hope that she could actually save Ashley, and keep from destroying the timeline.

She had been on countless missions, but none had a destination and purpose as did this one.

She had entered the river a few miles away to access the Sanctuary's basement water entrance. It was one of the smartest blueprint designs that she had ever approved of for her Old City Sanctuary.

Nikola pressed the button of the east wing elevator. The metal creaked as he descended down to the catacombs. He rested his head back against the metal wall and looked up to the metal grated ceiling.

_What on Earth is going on Helen?_

Nikola had been in Helen's library reading up on the files of the Montana test subjects. Trying to find cause of the why the Cabal had taken them in the first place. And what purpose Ashley played in all of this.

_For what purpose could they possibly have with perfect genetically engineered humans? And taking Ashley?_

The elevator opened, disrupting his train of thought, revealing the cold stone of the basement. He walked out, scuffing his black shiny shoes on the stone floor as he made his way down a dimly lit corridor.

Helen had chosen her time carefully. She did not want her plan to be revealed to Nikola too soon. This way he had less time to reflect on her decision—her choice. She would not tell him every last detail of the purpose of her making contact, but enough so that he would carry out her orders. If anyone could do this, it was Nikola.

Nikola walked up to the wine cellar door and turned the cast iron latch open and pulled it free from the lock. The latch curved in a semi-circle arch against the old heavy wooden door as he spun it to open.

He pushed the ancient wood door open and walked into the wine cellar. The iron hinges creaked in echoes that bounced through the spaces all around.

"Helen? it's Nikola," he called out; giving a voice and acknowledgement to the sound of someone entering.

Helen could hear his footsteps tap the stone as he made his way into the basement.

"Nikola down here," she called out to him.

He followed the sound of her voice and peaked around a double stack of wooden crates and down the long corridor.

"Dear god what are you doing down here?"

"I need your help."

"Of course, but why down here?" Nikola had one hand on his waist and another waving through the air. "What is so important you don't want anyone knowing you are…?"

He stopped a few feet from her as he noticed in the dim light that she was in a scuba dive suit, tank and equipment on the floor beside her. He tilted his head to the side confused.

"Helen?"

"Nikola I will explain. Now I need you to trust me. More than you ever have in your whole life."

He continued to walk towards her again with a sense of worry lingering on his face. Nikola took immediately notice of her expression. Her blue eyes were different somehow but he couldn't place it. Even the tone of her words reassured him this was important.

"Of course but what are you doing down here? I thought you and Will were out nabbing that other Montana test subject?"

Helen sighed deeply and took a second to analyze Nikola's face—his warm blue eyes, his thin facial features. She also observed his grey black attire that was neatly pressed as always. The soft wisp of air that followed his steps towards her filled the space between with a hint of mint.

And red wine.

_Bloody hell I've missed you._

Helen gave in to her emotions and walked the few steps to him, barefoot on the cold stone floor, and hugged him tight. Nikola blinked and shook his head and put his arms around her. After holding him close for a few moments she stepped back.

"What is going on," Nikola asked as he let his hands hold her at her elbows.

She reached up and placed a hand to his shoulder. Her blues eyes fixed to his unwavering.

"I need for you to upload a computer program to the EM Shield core."

Nikola frowned.

"I don't understand? Henry is your tech guru?"

"You are the only one who can do this. There are delicate files that need your expertise in deriving mathematical formulas. This has everything to do with electrical currents. Well, mostly."

"Helen you aren't making any sense."

Helen knew he would be a challenge to keep from having to expose all her efforts. This is why she kept another card up her sleeve—James.

"I am going to tell you something that is not going to make any sense, alright?" Her voice was low and sensitive as she was trying to remain as calm as possible.

_Dear god I am so close to making this work._

Her thoughts were more of a wish on a Hail Mary more than anything.

"I'm listening," Nikola said willingly.

"Do you remember back in the year 1898, when James told you one day I would ask for your help?"

Nikola had never forgotten that night. It wasn't long after Spring Hill Jack became the first resident of the London Sanctuary. He and James had been playing cards down in the lower level, toasting wine to their first Abnormal as Helen and Nigel were preparing a meal for the four of them.

"I do remember."

"And do you remember what James said to you?"

"Yes, I believe his words were," he leaned back into a wine barrel behind him and folded his arms across his chest, "Helen is going to ask you for your help one day. It will have purpose that she cannot tell you, but it will concern her family and that you shall not bring this to her attention until the day she inquires for assistance. I had never known what he meant by it. Neither did James. But it was James talking, so I didn't dismiss it."

"Good. Now what else did he say?"

"James said that it would be a very long time before you will ask this of me. I have always believed it would be about the London Sanctuary, but after you decided to globalize your work to many continents in our many years, James' words became more confusing as time went on."

"And they will become more confusing now."

Helen took a step closer to stand inches from his face, keeping a sincere smile on her face as she reached over and gently placed a hand to his cheek.

"James was correct with his words Nikola. He was the only one I could trust at the time to give you warning of this day. I am here to help change something that happened," her eyes dropped to look away, "that will happen."

Nikola kept quiet as his curious eyes blinked as she took her hand away from his face.

"I am not from this time Nikola. Right now I," she shook her head to clarify her situation and looked back to him, "your Helen is with Will searching for the Montana test subject, alright?"

He nodded slowly.

"Years ago I was forced against dire circumstances to return to the year 1898. There I had to prevent," Helen barely caught herself from saying the name Adam, "to fix a problem that had the potential to change world events. Events that would ultimately destroy us and everything, everyone we know."

Nikola unfolded his arms and leaned forward from the wine crate, but nearer to Helen.

"Time travel?" his heart pulsed at the thought.

"Yes Nikola. Time travel."

"Helen so you are saying that you have traveled to this moment in time to ask for my help?"

"More or less but I do not have time to explain it all. You must trust that I am doing the right thing."

Nikola had no doubt that she was. She was Helen Magnus.

"What do you need me to do?"

Helen's heart nearly fell out of her chest. James must have been very convincing when he spoke of this to Nikola all those years ago. Or Nikola was just that loyal of a friend.

"I have a drive with protocols I need you to upload. The program has vital information that needs to be initiated when the EM Shield reboots."

"So you need me to shut down the EM Shield?"

"God no Nikola. I just need you to read the files on a drive that I am about to give you. There is a magnetic signature and a low wave signal band that you need to compile and have programmed as a readable wavelength that the EM Shield can recognize. This has to be done as soon as possible. You are a master in understanding electrical currents and you are the only one I can trust to do this."

"An electromagnetic current and a radio signal. Helen is this some kind of weaponry?"

"No questions Nikola. Most of the information you will not fully comprehend, so do not dare attempt to try and understand what I am asking you to do."

"Alright Helen, as you wish." Nikola nodded.

His world was spinning with the newly discovered information that Time Travel is actually possible. And even more so as he suspected that he might be the one someday that creates such a thing. After all he was Nikola Tesla.

But he hadn't a clue that Adam was still alive.

"I also have this small circuit device that I need you to attach to the EM Server. All you have to do is use the USB connection to do this. Just connect it so it is hidden behind the server, against the wall. Whenever the time comes that the EM Shield is rebooted, you can remove it afterwards. And Nikola," she took his head into her hands, "you incinerate this circuit device along with the drive when all is done. Put them both in the furnace and destroy them. Promise me Nikola, this has to be done."

Nikola nearly melted as Helen held his head close to hers. He had always loved her. Had never stopped loving her. And in some silent way, he knew she knew this.

"Anything for you Helen. You have my word," he whispered softly.

She then pulled him into a tight hug again, resting her head on his shoulder. "You have no idea what this means to me. One day I hope I can explain it all to you."

He nestled his head to the crook of her neck. "I would expect nothing less."

Nikola could feel a light tremble in her body. He rubbed her back as he whispered in her ear. "Just tell me one thing Helen."

"Yes," she responded, her eyes heavy with trust.

"Are you happy? I mean, from the time you have come from, are you happy there?"

It was an innocent question. A simple, uncomplicated one.

"Happy is a word that has many meanings Nikola."

"Fair enough," he whispered back.

Helen pulled away and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She smiled then reached down and opened a waterproof black bag next to her oxygen tank.

She placed the bag on top of the wine barrel between them and pulled open its contents. A small black hard case held the flash drive. "This is the information drive. Keep it safe Nikola and upload this soon as you can into the EM Shield's information core." She then reached in again and pulled out a small rectangular device, its structural design was exactly like the one she had devised when she and Will were trapped in the French town of Carentan.

"This is what you will connect to the EM Server. Once all is uploaded and connected the EM Generator will act accordingly."

"Impressive." His eyebrows arched.

"Yes it is."

But she would not tell him the purpose of it. Or why it was needed.

"Alright Nikola, you have everything you need. It is time for me to leave you now."

He took his eyes away from the little shiny machine and stared intently at her. He knew she had come in through the subterranean water entrance, but knew not from where. He suspected she was going back to a time machine she had used to traverse across the filaments of space. He actually wondered if it was how H.G. Wells had envisioned it, seats and all.

"Helen for whatever reason you have come asking for my help, I hope we succeed."

She offered a soft smile in return, hiding the fear of a hundred years behind it. "As do I Nikola."

Helen had been carrying a constant nauseous feeling in her stomach since the very moment she pulled herself out of the water entrance. For it would be mere hours from now that Ashley was going to teleport into her Old City Sanctuary then disappear from her life, forever.

Helen reached down and grabbed the back pack and latched the straps around her arms and waist.

Nikola picked up the oxygen tank and strapped it to the back of her vest.

She turned to him one final time.

"Helen take care of yourself."

"I will. Thank you Nikola."

Nikola watched her as she turned away from him and disappeared into a dark corridor leading her to the basement river entrance.

He then lifted the contents he had been given and gently cradled them into his arms. He quickly left the wine cellar to help put in motion unknowingly of an event that would give Ashley another gift of life. A rebirth that would have Dana Whitcomb rolling over in her grave.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's note: I appreciate again all of your kind and constructive reveiws. It also helps me learn details I would not have noticed before hand. *pours a cup of tea for everyone* :)

I just finished this chapter today and have split this into two chapters after I realized it was a bit long. And so I decided to go ahead and post it just to get the story moving into the direction that is at the heart of my story.

Also: *Small blood and gore warning. Not too graphic but more implied* I hope you all continue to enjoy. Thanks very much. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

_Bhalasaam._

_Bhalasaam is falling._

Ashley observed Malak's senistive brown eyes waver with emotion in the dim dark light.

She had heard this name before.

It was the city where her mom, Druitt, James, Will and Clara where going—to retrieve the Source Blood. Unknowingly of course that Nikola was waiting for them when they finally arrived.

"Bhalasaam," she said to herself recognizing the connection.

"Yes, you have come to seek shelter have you not?" The Vampire stood still. Arms at his sides.

Ashley raised her gun higher to follow his movement and as she did she saw that her Vampiric nails stretched out from the handle of her gun.

Oh crap.

"Nope; not here to hide," she huffed gently, bringing her right arm inward to her chest and cradle it there. Careful not to curl her hand inward—her nails were like thin daggers.

His question brought her back to a state of lucidity and she realized where she had just been. A deep aching weight surged in the pit of her stomach as she remembered the whole of Praxis enveloping into a nuclear weapon-like explosion cloud.

She swayed back a step lowering her gun, nearly dropping it to the floor. She blinked away the darkness clouding her eyesight and slowly let her back come in contact with the hard stone behind her as she slid down to the floor to rest.

She could feel her heart rate increasing as the images of the brightly expanding light washed over her as the concussive force of the sonic wave knocked her off her feet.

"Gregory," she murmured quietly as her face lowered down almost slack.

Malak had watched her lower herself to the ground. He obviously could tell she was deeply distraught.

"This name you speak of? Is he a friend?"

Malak pulled down his black vest a bit as he bent down into a seating position against the rock face behind him.

Ashley just remained quiet staring at the cold ancient granite floor beneath them. The space was roughly the size of Helen's favorite balcony perch of her Sanctuary. Three tall walls stood around them. One to her left; containing the secret entrance that spanned about ten feet in length, one behind her, and one across from her. The ceiling was tall; about ten feet in height that arched in a curving half circle above them. To her right the small foyer like entrance led to an open drop that looked to reveal an open chasm the size of a football field. So she guessed. The light from the torch only hinted of the distances and depths. She could also just make out a stairwell leading down facing to Malak's left.

Malak surveyed her face as it contorted and strained as she fought to keep from letting out her sadness.

The Vampire listened to her heartbeat flutter in her chest. Vampires had incredible senses and her heartbeats sounded like loud thuds as he concentrated his hearing to listen.

_She is scared_ he thought.

Ashley pulled her knees to her chest as she cradled her right arm against her stomach. She still held her gun at her side—on guard.

Ashley then buried her face into her knees.

Malak watched as her shoulders shook with every silent cry she sobbed. He could smell the salty air of her tears fill the spaces between them. He feared she had lost someone she loved. Perhaps a husband.

If only he knew.

"I have lost many close to me," he said softly and slowly as if each word was a calculated art form.

"I had three brothers. They perished as we made our way through the forest. Russian soldiers fired upon us all as we fled into the mountains. Our healing gifts are invaluable but not entirely when faced by cannon fire. As you know our kind is not wanted," he paused letting his breath struggle. "So we are hunted."

Ashley listened to his words as he spoke softly. His tone was sincere and had a reservation that reminded her again of Will's persona. It was comforting in a way.

Malak continued his story as she lifted her head; her chin resting on her knees revealing a tear soaked face, pale and tired. She looked across the expanse of about seven feet of where he sat. His skin was white; a complexion more pale than she'd ever seen. His eyes were large and brown, light brown almost hazel as she stared closer—none threatening. He was close shaven and had a relaxed calm expression; friendly and inviting.

Malak leaned his head into the granite rock wall behind him and decided to ease the conversation and start with the subsidies of greetings.

"You have already learned my name; it is only befitting I tell you a little more about who I am."

Ashley just blinked as she gave a slight tilt of her head in acknowledgement.

"I was born in Toulouse France; January of the year Fourteen hundred and nine."

Ashley's breaths faltered in her chest only to be released fully after nearly 10 seconds of holding her breathe involuntarily.

Malak raised his eyebrows at her surprised response. "Yes," he confessed, "that is far young an age of a Vampire as only the eldest have survived the centuries."

"Is that true," she asked shocked—but more so at the fact of the year he was born.

"Yes," he answered in kind not sure she fully understood him. Any Vampire less than four thousand years old were practically unheard of, if not the rarest of the last surviving blood line.

"May I ask your name," he asked as he pulled his legs up to rest on bent knees.

"Yeah, my name is Ashley," she said in a low raspy voice as she was starting to feel really tired all of a sudden.

"Well it is a privilege to meet you Ash ley."

Ashley noticed how he said her name, as if it was two separate words.

"May I also enquire your age?"

Ashley had no plans on revealing her actual age so she just played along best she could for the time being and regretted looking as young as she did at this very moment. She was never a good storyteller.

She took her hand off her gun placed beside her hip on the stone floor and wiped her tears from her face. White powdery limestone dust clung to her forehead and the left side of her face and along her neck. She carefully wiped the blood rivulets away but each wound continued to stream slowly down pooling between her eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I'm eight hundred years old," she answered wiping the remaining blood from her jawline.

Malak raised his brown eyebrows to her with a soft smile, "that is remarkable. You are young I do dare say. Almost incredulous," he slowly shook his head in complete disbelief but smiling nonetheless. "Well now, you are the youngest Vampire I have ever met. This is a most unique circumstance of our meeting. May I also enquire where you are from?"

Ashley was a quick thinker. As a daughter of Helen Magnus, her knack for improv sometimes had been a god send. It was how she had dealt with Silvio's manner when she would have to tone down his salesmen bullshit in acquiring good deals on weapons.

"Um, I was born in a city named Yoda."

"I have never heard of such a place."

"Yeah well, it's far, far, away."

Ashley knew something was off first with the antiquated weapons fire, and now staring at someone who looked like they popped out of a Mary Poppins' chalk drawing; she had no further reserve and had to ask the year.

"So, just to make things clear, I am eight hundred years old. So that makes the year…?" She pretended to try and count numbers in her mind hoping it would get Malak to answer in response.

"Yes, our year is Nineteen hundred and five."

"And so it is." Ashley said with a fake smile.

_How the hell am I going to get back home?_

She had never made a jump this far back in time. Hell she had jumped into the future, back in the past, and in the vicinity of the Sanctuary, then back again to Gregory. It seemed random at best. But she would have to make every effort not to jump again unless she could discern a method of exacting her jumps to finite dates.

Now more than ever.

If that was even possible.

Echoes of violent torrents barely audible continued to grace the spaces beyond their safe haven reminding Ashley of the horror of being lost in time. For a brief moment she buried the thoughts of how she would survive this. And how she could get a message to her mother. If at all.

Malak took notice of her abrupt turn of her head to focus on the sounds outside the walls.

"We are safe in here. I can assure you."

He actually bowed his head into a nod to her.

A piece of burning debris fell onto Malak's shoulder causing him to look up above him. He flicked the burnt ember off his shoulder that had fallen from the above torch and stood up. Malak raised the torch from its base with his left hand and raised it to light the spaces around more brightly.

He turned back to look down at Ashley. "You speak that you have not come here for protection."

"I did," she replied grabbing her gun and slowly standing to her feet.

"Then why have you come?" His words were almost helpless.

He stood still. His free hand hanging limp at his side.

Muffled explosions and gunfire still coursed the air from behind the stone doorway. Each implosion thudded against the ancient stone like rain fall. These noises bled in and out of Ashley's hold on her concentration.

She replayed his last question in her mind, _'then why have you come?_'

If only she could give him the real reason.

"I can't answer that. I sort of just dropped in."

He kept his head angled toward her to show he was still acknowledging her in his dictations as he listened intently to the chaos raining down upon them from outside the walls.

"Our walled sensors alerted your presence when you appeared here."

"It did," she said in bewilderment.

"And I must be quaint with you; you are the only other traveler I have known besides my father," he said nonchalantly as he looked down at the stairwell before them.

"Uh, what," she retorted.

"My father was a traveler I mean to say. Like you."

"I don't know what that means," Ashley said as she coughed a thick white paste from her throat. Spitting the rest of the inhaled limestone dust out to the floor below her.

Malak looked back at her and smiled.

"You can travel the world in a moment's time and be anywhere in a blink of an eye. Correct?"

Ashley had a list of expletives she was dying to spat out in a fit of uncontrolled babbles in disbelief but decided to respond with a condescendingly, "You are correct mon ami."

She at least new basic French—mon ami, meaning my friend.

"Have you come to bring us to freedom?" His voice hitched for the first time in such a manner that she thought he was going to shout out in joy.

"What?"

"You are a traveler. You can disappear us out correct?" His tone was eager and filled with hope.

Ashley let her heart sink in her chest. If only teleporting was something she could control.

"I can't control my uh, traveling. It's sort of a new thing with me. Sorry."

Ashley watched his face fall from the anticipation and hope.

"I am sorry," he said.

"Me too."

"My father was killed when I was young. Such raids and attacks on our kind, as you know, have been a crime for centuries. He would be the one to aid your as I cannot."

"Well, I have been able to control it twice now. So I should try to concentrate on the specifics from those times right?"

"That would be most prudent. If you have done so before; you have the ability then to keep control. You will only have to find it again."

Ashley nodded to his encouragements. For the last few hours of her life she has been injured and emotionally broken without a single moment to catch her own breath. Now maybe she could have sometime in her own thoughts and figure out something. Anything that would allow for her to gain control.

"Now," he said gesturing to the stairwell with the torch, "let us find a safe path to the surface. There is no hope left to save our holy city anymore."

The firelight lit the open spaces around them revealing a blue tint that lingered on every dark gray surface of rock. The stone was cold and old and granite. Heavy limestone that had been carved and or chiseled into a magnificent structure revealing a marvel of ancient building.

The light was low but Ashley could still make out enough detail around her.

The large gigantic wall of stone to her left was full of surface lines like what an arrow head looks like at the tip. Chipped corners and smooth spaces all interweaved together. In fact the whole of the wall looked like one single rock face. She could see that the stairs had been carved from the stone and not joined by means of concrete inlays or any wood work—just never ending dark gray stone.

Ashley dared a look down into the dark abyss below. There was no hand railing just a single drop off to her right. The steps were about three feet wide easy. Without an inch to spare. With each step Malak took the torch light danced further revealing more of the hollow space below.

She stared at the back of his head watching his long hair shift in waves as he walked. He was handsome she thought.

Handsome for a Vampire.

But like a wild animal who could turn on you at any moment.

At any moment she reminded herself.

The air was cold and getting colder with each step they took. But she only felt the temperature drop in her hands and face for her Praxis wardrobe was adaptable.

Malak broke the silence with his curious nature, "may I ask of your recent place of departure before you arrived here?" He kept a strong pace as he descended down each step, almost as if he had every step memorized in his mind.

"You sure do like to ask questions," she breathed quietly. She hadn't meant to say it aloud. When he did not respond to her, she continued. "Ah, yeah, long story. I just need to know how to get out of here." Ashley wiped her forehead with her hand only to find her skin stinging with the contact. Upon turning her hand up to inspect the blood trails she gasped at the sight of a full bloodied palm.

Malak turned around to see her standing still about seven steps behind him. He frowned worriedly. "What is the matter Madam Ash ley?"

Ashley almost laughed out loud at the 'Madam'. Her only release of humor was a raised eyebrow.

"Damn wall fell on my face," her tone full of aggravation. She kept her eyes focused to her palm staring at the dark red blood.

Malak was confused. Vampires are immortal and do not stay injured for long lengths of time.

He caringly stepped back towards her in concern.

Ashley also stepped back. It was instinct for her—an engrained response from years of training with her mom.

"I'm fine. No need to come any closer."

Malak again raised a hand showing himself as no threat. "I will not harm you. We are all brothers and sisters here."

"Well I'm more like a half-sister dude," she said mockingly keeping her eyes fixed on his body language.

The Vampire raised his torch higher to see more of the extent of her injuries.

"You are not of pure blood?" His tone remained calm but Ashley let her left had fall back to her left pants pocket. Ready at any moment to spring free her gun.

Malak and Ashley locked eyes, taking in each other's gaze.

"Duude?" His accent accentuated the u letter. "Is that the name of your kind?" He asked gently.

Ashley was trying to figure out if he had a Hitler complex of discrimination of others because of race or if he believed 'dude' was another off shoot progeny of the Sanguine Vampiric race. The first reason being the last thing she needed.

She watched him carefully as his expression gradually stilled into an inquisitive stare.

_Oh hell just go with it_ she told herself.

"Yep. Call me a half breed. A hybrid. Can't heal fast. Whatever," she offered.

Malak lips spread into a humbled smile. "I have never met a race as yourself."

Ashley could tell he was genuinely enthusiastic about the fact she was not of the purebred so to speak.

"Don't get your manpanties in a bunch Mal. I had no choice in the matter," she spat with another heaved cough of white paste and phlegm.

She chose to give him a nickname because she could. Mal was much more appropriate she thought—courtesy of Firefly.

Like her mother; one has to find humor in dire situations at times or one shall lose their wits.

"You come from a place I have never heard of. And you are a species I have not met."

"You got it," she smirked.

"I have what," he asked with a frown.

Ashley stared back with wide eyes. "Come again," she asked him as if to get him to explain his last statement.

Malak stepped forward.

"What are you doing," she asked taking a step back.

"You asked me to come to you. Did you not?"

"Oh, sorry, where I come from I speak, uh, differently. We have different meanings of words. I was just saying that you are correct with your assumption. I am from a place you've never heard of. And I am different okay. No more questions."

"As you wish Madam Ash ley," he nodded with a bow worthy of royally like Druitt had done to her and her mom after he teleported them both out from the catacombs in Rome.

"And you can stop calling me Madam. I'm not that old," she said letting a slight smile curl her lips.

"As you warrant so my lady."

"Now, where are you taking us?"

"There are many passageways that are miles in length. We must find one without hindrance."

"Peachy," she griped.

"We both must stay near, as strength is found in numbers. My other friend is on the other side of the underground. He is trying to pry loose some stone rocks to make escape." His words trailed off as he returned his direction down the stairwell.

"Come, let us search for freedom."

And so Ashley followed.

Silence filled the spaces as the both walked down a never ending stairwell that finally lead them to the end level.

Ashley was starting to feel a little nauseous now as she felt her head begin to swim in random waves.

She kept her arm cradled close to her chest and continued to follow Malak as they entered a large chamber.

It had four walls with tall columns lining each. In a way it resembled the Parthenon's architecture. As they walked into the room Malak turned to give a glance in Ashley's direction.

"Are you hurt Ash ley? Do you need to rest?"

"No. Let's keep walking. The sooner we get out the sooner I can think straight."

Malak nodded and continued on his walk.

They continued to walk through a massive hollowed out temple and right up to a wide array of steps.

Taking the steps up, nearly a hundred of them, they found themselves approaching an open single corridor.

The small narrow passageway was only about the width of a single door and stretched for a considerable length beyond them.

Walking out of the large open room and into the narrow corridor, Ashley started to think back of when she teleported over to her mom at the Sanctuary.

She had made it to her, then down to Henry's lab. And again in those moments she was overwhelmed with fear and stress. If only she could figure out how the hell it worked.

She started to imagine her mom again and she started to picture the year 2011 in her mind. She then pictured the month of June in her mind.

Nothing.

Not even the faintest of an electrical static.

She felt like she was in one of those dreams where you try to take off running, and you actually raise your knees to jog, but you feel stuck in slow motion with weakness aching in your legs.

That's sort of how she felt.

"Damn it," she scowled at herself wishing she could will herself home.

Malak quickly turned around raising the torch towards her.

"Ash ley please sit. You are injured. Please let me assist you."

"Assist me? What do you mean assist me," she said on guard and a bit fearful.

Malak pulled a white handkerchief from his vest pocket slowly with his right hand.

"Please. I will not harm you. Let us take rest."

Ashley eyed him carefully as another wave of nausea crashed through her senses causing her to sway back a step.

"Okay, taking rest we shall." She felt like she was living through a deranged play of Shakespeare.

Ashley gently lowered herself to the floor letting her back lean against the rock as she pulled her knees up.

Malak placed the torch into a granite hook hold along the wall.

She watched him as he bent down on one knee as he braced a hand against the wall.

He smiled as he raised the handkerchief to her forehead.

"You remind me of someone I once knew many years ago," he said as he gently blotted at her deep lacerations on her forehead.

She winced and drew her head back.

"I am sorry I do not mean to hurt you."

"Seriously, Mal, I've had worse. It's fine."

He nodded and continued to blot and press the cotton fabric to her forehead to clean away the grit and blood.

"As I was speaking before; you remind of a woman I once knew. She had an inner warrior, determined spirit. Just as I sense in you."

"Well that's me in a nut shell," she said closing her eyes to avert watching her vision swim once more.

Malak took the white fabric and folded it over once, "nut shell?"

"Yeah, it means 'whole'. I mean, how you describe her and me is the same."

"Oui," he laughed under his breath.

He smiled, his gentle brown eyes carefully detailing the wounds on her face then raised his handkerchief again.

"What was her name?"

Malak ran the handkerchief down across her jawline and her neck, ever so tenderly to wipe away the debris.

"Her name was Jeanne."

"Jeanne. That's a pretty name."

"Yes. She was strong willed and very brash but never faltered in her beliefs. I accompanied her through her travels into Orleans and Reims, both French provinces many years ago. But history would adorn her as Jeanne d'Arc."

Ashley sighed and blinked heavily, "Joan of Arc?"

"Yes Ash ley. I was one of many Vampires who laid siege to the provinces under her command. But we were infiltrated and hunted in large groups after our conquests and I barely survived the onslaught. I was not able to save her as I had planned; as I had promised. She was burned to death as we all know. A dreadful end to an inspiring and beautiful heart." Malak lowered his eyes and looked down to straighten out his crumpled vest.

Ashley had noticed a single tear had fallen onto the granite floor next to her black boot.

Ashley placed a hand to his shoulder as she finally felt sure enough to do so.

"We all lose the people we love in life. At one time or another. We just have to learn to live with it. May I suggest a saying that me and my mom say to help us grieve through the process of death?"

Malak twisted to his side so he could sit next to her.

"Yes, please share your words."

"Nos must amitto vivo in."

Malak eyes glanced upwards as if he was translating the Latin.

"We must let go, to live on?"

Ashley sighed a response of amazement. "Yes. It is something only me and my mom say. It is a constant reminder of how we must deal with death, if we were to lose each other."

"I like the words Ash ley. I promise I will use them." He closed his brown eyes and repeated the words, but did so in French.

Ashley smiled as she watched him.

Malak returned to look at her again. "You have a similar garment as she would wear as well." He pointed to the hoody along the back of her neckline. "Jeanne had chosen to wear such chain length armor head coverings in battle but only pulled the remaining head wear over her head just moments before she set out on her pilgrimages. It was very heavy but she wore each garment and battlement as her soldiers did."

Ashley was still in awe of the wondrous historic ages he had lived through.

And how often does one get compared to Joan of Arc; from someone who actually knew her.

"She must have been one brave woman."

Malak smiled giving her a nod. "Yes she was."

A moment of silence passed between them before he spoke again.

"Now, may I ask in reference to your traveling ability? I had never been able to ask questions to my father about his gift as he died when I was quite young." His tone was innocent and full of wonder.

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

Malak straightened his posture and shifted so he could face her better.

"You say you have no control? But you did so before. Correct?"

"Yes," she sighed shifting her shoulder to lower her forearm into her lap.

"I think I may be able to render some assistance."

Malak jostled something from out of his vest insert pocket. Ashley watched with deep curiosity as he rummaged through the little black pocket.

He pulled out a handful of coins.

"My father always kept a pocket full of coins with him and never was about without them. And he did so for nearly seven thousand years. He said that it helped in travel. So maybe they can help you. After he died I have kept them in my pockets every day."

He opened his hand to reveal a large array of ancient coins. About thirty of them.

"Oh my god those are old," Ashley said aloud, her voice bright with enthusiasm as she made out the small impressed faces and dates on the small coins in the dim light.

"Yes they are. Some come from the age of Julius Caesar and ancient Greece."

Ashley had never fathomed ever meeting a Vampire. And surely not one as interesting as this one. She continued to stare in quiet awe as he turned each coin over to show her the detailing and color, dates, and size in comparison to the others.

"Most of these are gold as well. I had always assumed that this element helped him in his travels."

"You mean like the gold itself helped him disappear?"

"You are indeed a bright student Miss Ash ley," he replied. "He just always said it helped him so I would like for you to have them. Perhaps one day they can help you."

"Malak," she said loud in defense of his kind gesture, "I could never take these. These were your father's. They belong in your family."

Malak reached to her left hand and opened her palm, placing the coins into her's. "I have no family left and I have had my joy with them for much longer that you have been alive. Take them and may they help you one day."

Ashley just shook her head as she closed her fist around the coins.

"You must concentrate now on controlling your gift. For we cannot stay down here for all eternity if we fail to find a route free of obstruction."

Ashley opened her hand again and ran her fingertips over the coins feeling the weight and watching them glisten in the torch light. There were a number of copper coins in the mix too. So many old ones and early French ones too.

"Yeah, well like I said, it's a gift I cannot control."

"Not yet," he said optimistically.

"May I," he asked pointing back at the coins in her hand.

"Sure."

He took out a coin and got to his feet and walked about ten feet away and placed it on the ground. He then walked back and sat next to her. "Now, place the coins into your pocket."

She let the coins fall into her zipped jacket pocket and zipped it closed.

Malak pointed to the coin on the floor. "Imagine the coin. Look where it is. Think of the distance that is between you and the coin. Now imagine yourself standing next to it."

"It's not that easy Mal," she was trying to stave off another whirl of dizziness and was beginning to feel overheated within the last minute or so.

"You can do it Ash ley. Please try. It is a remarkable gift to have. One that I do envy in you. Please. Try."

He had seen his father disappear countless times as a young child. His father would bring him to every standing and toppled over wonder of the world. In a day's time he had remembered seeing the pyramids of Egypt, the Mayan sun temples, the castles of Scotland and many others that would take some people lifetimes to see. It was a gift he marveled at and wished he had. Who wouldn't?

But his father had the stunning luck to have seen them built—brick by brick—and stone by stone.

"If you try at best, just to humor me so; then I will be grateful." He smiled once more—his light brown eyes a huge contrast to the snow white color of his skin.

"Okay, you win. So just look at the coin right?" Ashley looked over at the coin, a little blip of a shadow across the floor.

"Yes. And imagine how far it is from you. And picture yourself standing near it."

Ashley inhaled a deep breath very slowly and tried to clear her mind from her ever growing exhaustion, the pain of her wounds, the year in which she was in, and that of Malak's cute face.

"Here goes…" she said.

Ashley kept her eyes on the small shadow of the coin. Trying to imagine how many steps it would take for her to get to it. Then she imagined herself standing over the coin.

The hallway beyond her went on for miles it looked like. The shiny grained granite reflected like a geo against the flickering flame of the torch light. The surface of the walls seemed to twinkle in random spaces like diamonds when they catch light within the intricate cuts. Such a beautiful place to be trapped though. For it was truly another wonder of the world.

Malak and Ashley stayed motionless in the low wavering light. Malak kept his eyes on Ashley and dared not even breathe a breath.

Silence.

Silence.

Another deep breath.

She exhaled slowly.

Silence.

The torch flame cracked and sparked the coal embers.

With a wisp of cold air and a flash of red flare; she was gone.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Malak pulled himself up to his feet in complete astonishment. The Vampire listened like a animal for any familiar noise or sound, footsteps on stone... He listened closer but only caught the light singing from a light breeze of drafty air. Alone he begged the silence to speak, but he was met with quiet, nothing more.

Silence.

"Ash ley!" He called out. Waiting for a sound. A noise. A word.

Silence.

He squinted his dark red eyes and cocked his head to let his ears listen for the faintest hint of any audible resonance of a vibration.

Silence.

With a wisp of cold air and flash of red flare she appeared.

Appeared in the same spot. Sitting in the same exact position she had been before she teleported.

Malak nearly jumped down to her side raising his hands and waving both into the air to simulate the intangible smear of red matter that had appeared instantly.

His expression was wildly excited. "You traveled! You did it Ash ley! Bon! Bon!"

Ashley opened her eyes as her whole body rippled with goosebumps. She dropped her jaw in awe and felt her heart beat pounding in her chest like a drum.

"What?" she yelled as she was consumed in delayed self-acknowledgement. She blinked her blue eyes frantically and she turned her head to the side to look at the coin still on the floor.

"You traveled but you did not move. But you willed your body to begin the progression Well done Ash ley!" Malak's face was still stuck in a wide grin on a ghost of a pale white face.

"Oh my god I did!" She felt a surge of confidence wash over her.

Malak was so proud of her—she could tell this of him. Ashley had to admit that sometimes in life one finds an instant chemistry, comfortable presence from a person they just met. And she could see how this was just a clear example. She saw that his now retracted red eyes revealed the natural brown; bright, full of life, even though the whole the world was crashing down all around them from above. Strange how she had forgotten the outside world in a moments blur of joy.

Malak was filled with pride as he stared back at her. He had encouraged her to try. Just to try and accomplish a small step. Though she did not make it to the coin, she had phased out and had phased back in.

Ashley had totally forgotten the fact that she could have jumped back into the prehistoric era of man no doubt in the middle of an organized hunt for a mammoth, or even worse, the age of the dinosaurs. But something in Malak's words and spirit was almost spell binding. He was like a new toy, shiny and new and special and fascinating beyond words.

And kind and gentle and caring.

And a Vampire.

And for a moment Ashley had forgotten her trials and pains and fears.

"That is most incredible," he exclaimed. "My father's traveling color was a bright green. And you have a reddish flash."

Malak had morphed into his childlike innocence as he said his words aloud. His big brown eyes wide and spirited.

Ashley was having a hard time believing he was a Vampire. She had always pictured them as arrogant, snippy, flamboyant, and uncaring.

Ashley started to laugh. Not just giggle but laugh and Malak laughed with her and their burst of accomplishment echoed into the dark depths of Bhalasaam's underworld.

Ashley stopped laughing abruptly and began a deep coughing fit that spit up phlegm once more.

Malak offered his handkerchief and placed his left hand softly on her jawline and wiped her mouth and chin ever so gently.

"Oh I don't feel so good," she said resting her head back into the wall behind her.

"Does your kind always become ill when injured?"

"It depends," was her short answer.

Suddenly Malak hissed and shot his head to the side as a bat or owl would do.

Ashley took her head from the wall to see that Malak's red eyes were full and bright—his Vampiric nails scratching the granite floor as he placed both hands down like a lion stalking his prey.

"What is"—

"Shh," his hissed between long sharp fangs.

In a blink of an eye the torch was put out and complete darkness engulfed around them.

"We must continue German soldiers are coming."

With that Malak grabbed Ashley around her shoulders by his inner palms careful not to cut her with his nails. "Let us move."

Ashley groaned as she pushed herself up and started to run down the long corridor. Malak held her arm by her forearm and guided her down. He was fast and she felt that familiar sting of nausea returning with every pound of a step she took.

As she turned back she could see light sources bleeding into the large open foyer they hand entered, the Parthenon designed masterpiece.

Black shadows of men echoed their loud voices as the lights neared the center of the giant room.

Malak came to a sliding halt as the end of the corridor beyond them was filled with light and shadows.

They were trapped.

"Ash ley. I want you to concentrate on any place other than here. Understand?"

"Okay," she whispered horrified.

"Now sit and do not move. I shall return."

Malak took off running.

Ashley watched the shadow of him blur with speed down the corridor to the light and shadows nearing its entrance. She could not see what else was beyond the end of the corridor but guessed it was an adjacent passageway.

Pulling free her gun she then aimed shakily down the long hallway.

A second later men were howling and screaming in a horrid rage as Malak sprung on them like a wild beast.

That was her cue.

She leaned down into the wall to her right and aimed her weapon into the room they had walked out of.

She fired.

And fired and fired and watched the blue thin beams erupting with the speed of a bullet. She watched as the light streaks tore into the walls releasing granite particles and pieces ejecting them into the air; smashing the architecture from within the confined spaces nearer to the entrance. Men fell down at the entry way beyond her,black shadows dropping like dominoes. Many garbling in deep agony; some shrieking in terror at the site of the weapon's fire and pain. T

The open length inside the hallway lit up fully with each energy beam she shot. It sprinkled the air glowing wildly against the diamond twinkling surface of the granite walls, smooth floor, and the ceiling above.

She didn't stop she just clicked the trigger in rapid succession sending a wave of death down into the men. The energy weapon pulsed through clothing, skin, tissue, muscle, and bone. Relentlessly.

Kill or be killed.

She wanted to live.

Wanted to live to get back home.

To her mother.

Before any soldier could even raise a hand to his weapon. They were dead.

Silence.

She stopped moving and held her breath. With ringing ears she listening for a sound that would alert her that Malak was returning.

But there was nothing.

She eyed the entrance she had been shooting at and just saw downed torches.

The same for when she turned around where Malak had run to. Nothing. No sound. No noise. No Malak. She decided to stand up and make her way cautiously to the entrance behind her about fifty yards or so. Ashley kept her weapon raised and realized once again, her Vampiric nails were out. It had felt like a hour by the time she was near the end of the corridor but in truth it was only seconds.

Eyes lowered down to mangled bodies and empty handed torches laying around heaps of dismantled limbs.

The sight instantly reminded her of the time when she, Will, and her mother boarded the freighter with the Nubbins and the bear dog-like creature that could turn invisible—body parts laying all over the place mismatched and detached.

About fifteen dead German soldiers laid around her. Their dark green heavy attire filled with soaking blood stains. Helmets scattered around—some still with a head held inside by the chin strap.

Ashley felt her stomach churn with the violent sight. Antiquated firearms still latched to the chests of the men laid idle as she searched each body to find a familiar face.

Fifteen torches still danced firelight around sending a most unwelcoming and eerie tone to the environment. Grenades had exploded amidst the struggle and it was a sight she would never speak of again.

As she walked out into the adjacent corridor she saw him—slumped into the wall on his stomach as his spine arched up slightly as if he had slid down into the position against the wall.

A dead German soldier crumpled around one of Malak's legs; she dared not to make eye contact with the mangled mess it had become.

"Oh god!" she cried. A sickened gasp hollowed her heart.

Still holding her gun in her hand he shuffled over the four dead bodies in her path and fell at his side softly placing her left hand to his back.

She then in shock placed her hand gun to her side on the floor and grabbed him with her good arm. She reached under his slumped chest to grab a handful of cloth from his left shoulder and pulled so he would roll to on his back.

As his body slowly turned to face her she saw that his soft brown eyes were staring wide into oblivion.

A peaceful expression lacing his pale face.

His body was limp as his right arm had fallen over his stomach, left hand out to his side. She refused to look nearer to his legs.

"No," she cried as her throat seized to stop the onslaught of its tight pull of sadness. Hopelessness pried into her heart, this heavy unwanted feeling. A rattled fear poured in from this new world she found herself standing in. And once again, she was alone.

"No please," she fell forward into his chest and just let herself scream into his body as if she was trying to muffle her cries into a pillow.

Her breaths choked and continued without reserve as her warm tears soaked her skin and his black wool vest.

A moment later she was gagging and gasping for air as another coughing fit hit her hard. This time she was spitting up not just phlegm but blood.

She could also tell now that she was hosting a high grade fever.

Her mind raced with the thought of her symptoms and where she had seen it before; and that is when she was starting to put two and two together.

She knew her Sanguine Vampiric genetics were destabilizing from an unknown source. She had a high grade fever and was coughing up blood. She was now becoming mortal once again and would be susceptible to sickness—making her vulnerable to one that was all too familiar.

And it was only one recent threat she had been exposed to; Ashley heaved loudly and spat a mouthful of blood as she painfully gasped words from her thoughts, "the Lazarus Virus…"

She spit another cough of blood and pushed herself away from Malak and surveyed the narrow corridor around her filled with bodies heaped and sprawled out onto the floor. She turned from Malak one last time, placed her gun into her pants pocket, and walked back towards the hallway she had just walked out of.

The torches still burning crackled in sequence to one another as the soft glow of the light filled the corridor revealing the distance of it. At the end of the long hallway the remaining torches of the other onslaught of soldiers flickered near the entry way. In a spiritual way it looked like the hallway had become a guided path; carrying a warm ambiance of peaceful illumination.

Ashley coughed once more and bent over, resting her hands on her knee. She physically could feel how her body had deteriorated in clarity and strength in just a short amount of time.

She knew her very life was slipping away.

So she forced herself straight again. Ran her hand through her fever soaked hair and pulled her little hoody over her head; as to honor herself in her last attempt on a pilgrimage home. With her one good hand she yanked at the tie strings and tightened the black covering on her head; an homage to Jeanne d'Arc.

She closed her eyes and pictured herself home. Standing at the front entrance of her Sanctuary—running to the front iron gate to open it—to finally at last—return home.

She warily took in one deep breath, slowly. Careful not to breathe in too fast as to disrupt her heavy chest into another coughing fit.

She pulled her right arm in to cradle it to her chest.

She blinked her blue eyes as sweat beads fell from her lids. And she took off running.

She bolted down the hallway against the exhaustion—against the aching of every inch of her heated skin— and the nausea of the pulsing throb in her head that blurred her vision with every step.

She imagined time as a layer of white billowy clouds that she was falling down through, from the edge of the blue expanse of the atmosphere—imagining each cloud layer as a year in time. She pictured herself as a mere skydiver just falling into the analogy and traveling back to where she belonged.

Her boots slapped hard against the granite and her breaths shook her body with every pounding footstep. She could hear the coins clanking and echoing like tiny bells in her pocket as she stared into the lighted corridor around her—trying to make it home.

She could see the Sanctuary in her mind's eye and the view of it looking through the iron gates to her home—the time being June 2011.

A bright red flash engulfed the darkness.

She was gone.

Silence.

Silence.

A sigh...

Malak had turned the corner a few seconds before she disappeared into a blinding flicker of red matter. The ancient Vampire had healed though it had taken him longer to do so as the extent of his injury was grave.

He now stood still.

And waited.

Waited for the blinding flash to return to him again.

But he was only met with the quiet of a dead city.

Dark red eyes seemed to glow against the bouncing light reflecting off the shiny smooth walls. His large black pupils eclipsed the red of the oldest of the Abnormal race. And if his heart could beat, he would have been breathless.

He stood still, like a portrait, a scene in time. And if painted, would have expressed the corridor as a silver mine with dazzling specs of white dancing on the surfaces of the granite—a tall black figure staring into its depths.

Malak walked slowly down the corridor watching as the walls seem to move and shift in the bleeding light. He made his way to a tiny shadowy object on the floor and knelt down to it. With bloodied fingertips he picked up the little cold gold coin.

A sad beat-less sigh escaped from his lips pulling him deeper into the immortal world he was bound to.

Ashley was gone.

He knew she must have believed him dead.

He raised the coin and kissed the cold surface, eyes closing to a longing smile.

Marbled scarlet eyes of the Vampire seeped with hopeful tears of freedom for her. He wished they could have more time.

Another soft sigh broke through from his chest. Now, the soft drafting air started to dance into his sensitive ears and he peered beyond the spaces that just had held them together. Fingers pushed the small coin into his jacket pocket, and he bowed his farewell to the darkness.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's note: I try to post as soon as I finish a chapter but real life will become a bit busy for me soon and I may not be able to update as frequently; but I will try to keep everyone up to date as soon as I can. I am almost done with the next chapter and have outlines for a few others to follow. Enjoy! :)

* * *

><p><em>October 16<em>_th__ 2009, 18:29 hours—_

The EM Shield had been rebooted.

Minute and phantom atoms—contained and directed particles of the subatomic; tore between the fabric of space-time

There was a surge of static charge in every square inch of the Sanctuary that was engulfed by the reboot of the EM Shield by Henry Foss.

Ashley's electromagnetic wavelength cascaded over the whole of the EM bubble, traversing invisibly and dancing across its unseen circumference for a fraction of a nanosecond—only to disappear in unison following the programmed coordinates of a Hollow Earth radio signal.

The EM Shield core had been uploaded with a program to scan for Ashley's exact magnetic signature as it surged through the EM shield during the moment of her final teleport.

Which was happening now—

Upon identifying the frequency of her matter stream the EM Shield combined it with a radio signal that was being directed by means of another program via the EM Server.

Helen's newly constructed Carentan device phased its expanding particle field across the Sanctuary's EM Shield as the layers of space divided as the Cerellium element pulsated and bled into the collapsible dark matter of the universe—opening a rift in time.

The Cerellium was absorbed by the gravitational strength of this dark matter—cascading the compressed matter stream across the layers of time only to repel Ashley forward in time to the month of May, 2011.

Every century, every year, every day, every hour, every second and finite moment of all of time is catalogued like rings on a tree; layers per se.

Adam's time node held the key to see each layer as simple numbers and decimals. When such coordinates are targeted through the simplicities of quantum physics; Cerellium opens the door way to each.

Helen had programed her master plan to propel Ashley's compressed wavelength to an exact layer in space-time; and right to her father's doorstep. Or the closest she could estimate.

All members of the Sanctuary family were oblivious and unaware of the magnitude of what was at play all around them in the instant Ashley teleported. Even now as a mourning Helen lay on the cold stone floor of her subterranean level in tears, her daughter clung to life as a mere magnetic pattern found in a single traversing wavelength—one that was being piggy backed on a radio signal being directed into the future to the city of Praxis.

A brightly glowing stardust fog of red and orange matter flashed then separated into falling sparks, dissipating before Helen's eyes—Ashley's death.

So she believed.

Nearly three years passed; then over one hundred and eleven more.

And then…

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><p>Icy rain pattered down over Old City, streaming inside weathered broken cracks and over the stone work of the Sanctuary's front entrance. Small puddles blanketed the stone entry way beneath the Gated archway. White bursts of lightning and waves of thunder echoed a few miles away rang loud as the sound waves traveled across the dark city.<p>

With a wisp of cold air and a flash of red flare a body materialized and collapsed under the stone arch of the Sanctuary's front entrance.

Ashley gasped for air, her oxygen supply again being sucked out of her lungs with the intensity of the teleport. She fell to the hard ground as her body convulsed with the intense pain. She could feel her chest violently tightening as she wrapped her arms around her sides as trails of blood bled from between her pale lips.

She screamed out as she buried her face to the cobblestone beneath her. The cold tactile surface stung like needle pricks against her hot feverish skin.

She gagged for air as she forced herself to crawl towards the security box. Every movement sent sharp pains through her body as she felt every muslce reflex contorting with cramping around her bones. Inch by inch she slid across the wet stone to the machine that would allow her entrance. It was so cold. And the internal posinous fire raging within only made it more difficult as the cold night hit her like a colliding wall of ice.

But she didn't care.

She was home.

Fingers reached their destination, feeling near the pole of the security machine. She slowly and painfully pulled herself into a tight ball and used every ounce of what energy she had left and pulled and pushed herself up.

The old metal pole served as a crutch and she willed the last of her energy and with one hand she slammed her fist at the red panic button. It clicked down with a loud familar snap.

_Relief_.

She took a moment to stare at the old metal boxed keypad. It was like an old friend. Countless times she'd driven up to the entrance on her motorcycle, rain and shine, sleet and snow and punched in her personal passcode. The arch was like a haven, a haven leading to sanctuary. Her mother's Sanctuary.

Home.

Her breaths shutterd rapidly. Her eyelids grew heavy to the darkness stealing her vision. Ashley muttered hoarsely one single word and collapsed to the cold stone.

_"Mom."_

Her mind at least was comforted by the too familiar embrace beneath the old stone. She made it home. For her, that was all that mattered. That, and learning her mother was alive.

A loud beeping pulsed out from the computer screen in Helen's study. She was at her desk writing notes in an Abnormal file when she was jolted from her concentration as the beep startled her. She quickly walked over to her desk and tapped at her keyboard bringing up a screen. The emergency alert was from the front entrance. She leaned slightly towards her monitor to see a dark figure lying on the ground in front of the iron gate.

Her breath caught in her chest.

Helen pressed a button on the keyboard sending a signal through the security system to automatically unlock the front gate. She then immediately grabbed her walkie from her pocket. "Big Guy, I need a stretcher. Meet me at the front entrance we have a medical emergency!"

A sound of static returned on the other line accompanied with a scruffy voice, "On my way," he scruffed back.

She got up from her desk and put the walkie in her black pants pocket and raced out of the room.

Magnus' boots slapped hard against the terracotta tiles of the Sanctuary's foyer—her breathing fast and heavy as she neared the entrance door to her Sanctuary.

She grabbed the knob of the front door and twisted the lock to open then ran out into the dark rainy night.

The cold air stung at her pale skin as the rain continued to fall in dense sheets as she ran out into the darkness. Her black boots pounded the stone and splashed up water from the puddles beneath her. As she ran along the arching stone path she could see her cold breaths lingering into small fog clouds. She could just make out the black clothed figure lying under the archway in the distance as she ran.

A flash of multiple lightning strikes lit up the sky in white flashes as its thunderous rumble screamed across the sky.

Helen ran off the stone entry path and was met with loud crackling of white rocks beneath her boots. The sound doubled as she found Biggie making his way to meet her just yards away.

The cold heavy rain had soaked clear through her black attire by the time she had reached the front gate. As she came to a sliding stop at the large black iron gate her boots kicked up some rocks, tossing them against the iron work of the gate causing a ringing bell pattern to resonate around them.

She gripped a bar from the heavy iron gate and pulled one section in towards her opening the doorway. It creaked a language of a hundred years that time had never yelded to oiling its hindges.

She walked beneath archway looking at the prone figure. Who would be visiting her at this time of night? Who needed her help she wondered?

Cautiously, she crouched beside the catatonic body that was heaving breaths from the world of unconsciousness. Small clouds of warm breath strayed from around Ashley's face and lingered a few moments. Like small ghostly shadows they hovered then dissolved into the cold night.

Helen kneeled over the body, "My name is Dr. Magnus," she affirmed calmly as her eyes briefly scanned the Big Guy before shifting them back down. "Can you hear me?" Her professional tone ehcoed just loud enough to converge over the tapping rainfall.

But no movment or cognitive sound responded to her. Only the howling down pour sang out around them.

Helen sighed her worry and gently placed a hand along her side, one on her shoulder and pulled her carefully over onto her back.

Helen immediately placed her fingers along her neck, reaching just above the zipped garment to check for a pulse. The heart rate was erratic and irregular and skin fervent with heat.

Seeing the hoody tightly bound around the face she pushed the black fitted material away very gently from the face being concealed. Dark blood rivulets painted her exposed cheek and traveled lines of red began spilling from her forehead. Helen took notice of the wounds as she moved her right hand to cradle the back of her neck.

"Bloody hell," came the sighing acknowledgment of the battered cuts exposed to her now. She reached with on hand to cradle Ashley's left jaw, and she gently turned her face toward her. The sensor camera rigged at the top left corner casted a soft white glow to light the spaces around them.

But it was more than enough.

All sound slipped from her ears muting the world around her. Her body refused to move, swearing her heart had stilled. Only to began to beat again.

Ashley is living. And she was breathing.

An immediate tremble hit her hands and suddenly both began to shake uncontrollably. The shock then carried into her arms, passing along her shoulders and through her know wobbly knees.

Confusion flooded her mind and the only thing she could do was cry out a gasp of utter disbelief and immense joy as she lost her equilibrium and stumbled backwards.

"Ashley...?"

Eyes raised and locked to her old Friend. His large eyes were but a mirror to her own. The large beast nearly dropped the stretcher as he felt himself succumb with shock.

"Magnus," he pleaded too in disbelief.

Helen willed herself to kneel back down to Ashley and rested a hand to her chest. She felt the racing heartbeats thumping wildly in her prone daughter. "Something's wrong."

She then reached a palm to her forehead. "She's burning up," she revealed, almost delirious.

"Ashley. Can you hear me?" Helen waited a moment and watched for any movement no matter how subtle. But all she saw were the uneven chest falls of her irregular breathing patterns.

"Let me know that you can hear me," she asked, no she was ordering her to do so in a wave of desperation and blurred tears. Urging her daughter she delicately tapped the side of her bloodied cheek.

Ashley didn't answer.

Helen's world was seemingly changing, the moment started to swim in slow motion; even her thoughts fought the whirlwind of a lethargic truth. She let her hands fall gently to her shoulders shaking her ever so softly to wake her from the darkness. "Ashley please answer me," came the desperate cry.

As if time had stood still she stared at Ashley's face at every slanting trail of blood dripping from her cuts.

She didn't know how long she'd been staring until a voice called out. "Magnus?"

Then suddenly she snapped back to herself. And she knew what was required of her. As a doctor. And a mother. "We need to get the ICU set up as soon as possible."

Helen felt like her soul was new again. Her mind shifted from engrained memories and emergency medical protocols that were aching to be followed without hesitation. Helen could barely see past the tears flooding from her eyes.

The Big Guy physically had to shake away the nerves to bend down and place the stretcher beside Ashley's body. He brushed his fingers to the side of Ashley's temple to touch the dream that he feared would disappear at any second. Then growled against the cold wet air soaking him to the bone.

Helen forced her body to react to her thoughts and leaned back over Ashley to roll her onto the stretcher. She dared a look away from Ashley again to glance at the Big Guy.

"It's Ashley," she promised through a quiver.

"Yes," he huffed. "And we we need to get her inside."

Helen blinked back tears. She took a deep shaking breath. "Okay on two, lift," she advised with a wipe of wet sleeve to clear the rivers of rain blanketing over her eyes. "We've got you Ashley," Helen assured with a quick kiss to her blood stained forehead. "Hold on. For _me," _she lovingly whispered.

Helen yanked at the stretcher's black straps and belted them across Ashley's body.

"One and lift!"

Biggie had his hands under the stretcher and nearly had the strength to carry Ashley all by himself.

The tall beast grunted softly, "keep talking to her Magnus, I can hold her."

Helen offered a fragile nod, eyes still wide with alarm. Her fingers were planted to Ashley's neck, feeling her pulse at it raced uncontrollably.

Magnus could feel the overwhelming sense of relief igniting her soul like a firestorm amid the torrential downpour falling down around them.

_IT WORKED… _her soul wept the very words over and over and over again in her heart.

It felt like a dream. Everything. The joy of elation and the deep dreadful fear of Ashley's unknown condition.

A dream. A dream of a plan that has come back to her.

As they walked to the side entrance to the Sanctuary Helen never released her hand to Ashley's neck. Every thud of the blood pulsing through her artery was life trying to survive.

Life that was fighting.

Her daughter was back in her life, and all she knew was that she wasn't going to let her disappear from her again. Helen called out to her daughter as they shuffled through the long arching passageway on the side of the Sanctuary. Boots and footsteps pounded the cold stone on their way to the lower level infirmary emergency door near the end of the covered walkway.

As they hurried through they were guided by soft yellow glows of light shining through small arched windows along the standing stone walls to their left; windows positioned every twenty feet filling the spaces; illuminations from inside the library.

Helen spoke all of her words through lung burning sobs.

"Ashley stay with me. Stay with us," she pleaded.

Helen keep her face gently pressed against Ashley's forehead speaking to her the comforting words loud enough so that she hoped they would stir her to consciousness. Whether she heard the words or not, Helen kept repeating them to her, yelling them louder each time as if her words would coax a response.

Ashley was starting to twitch on the stretcher as they crossed the threshold into the Sanctuary. Her hands and wrists started to spasm inward and Helen immediately took notice of the movement and was fearing that she was about to have a seizure.

Biggie pushed the door open with his back. Not much effort was needed as he had run out of it just a few moments before and had left it cracked.

They rushed into the corridor and down the warm hallway and into the large infirmary.

Biggie opened the door and he and Helen made their way to a side bed quickly, unlatched the stabilizing straps, and slowly rolled Ashley off the stretcher; her head softly being cradled on a pillow. Helen placed her hand back to Ashley's neck just as her body started to shake violently.

"No, no. Don't you do this Ashley," she wailed.

Helen turned Ashley over to her side and hugged her tight to keep her from falling off the side of the bed.

"Ashley," Helen called to her as her daughter's body fell into convulsions.

"She's seizing," she called out.

Biggie heard her scream in panic.

"It's going to be alright. Please… "

Helen just kept a tight hold to her daughter.

_I'm not going to let you die._

Biggie was in overdrive, his mind set on every emergency protocol. Disinfectant, gauze, syringe, IV bag and line, diazepam.

"One point two milligrams of diazepam!" Helen frantically called out to Biggie.

He already had it filled. He picked up the IV set up and the other supplies and ran over to Helen. He dropped all the contents onto a metal cart beside the bed.

"Hold her for me!" Helen cried.

Biggie grunted his response and slipped his left arm over her left side and under her head stabilizing her. With his other hand he reached to pull out Ashley's contorting left arm. Helen reached out and held tightly to her arm. She had a pair of scissors and was cutting through the fitted sleeve of Ashley's long sleeve jacket.

When she reached her mid arm, she tossed the scissors back to the cart and tore open the fabric. She then grabbed a pre-soaked gauze from the cart and rubbed it over the inner part of her arm. "Try and hold her still," she gasped frantically—tears uncontrolled streaming down her face.

_You just came back into my life. I am not going to lose you to a seizure._

_Not after all we've been through._

"Trying! Ugh, ugh." Even with Biggie's size and strength he was struggling to keep Ashley still.

Helen gripped her arm tightly by the forearm and attempted to hit a vein. She pushed the needle slowly into her arm; she pulled back on the syringe and saw that blood was being sucked backwards into the small ampule.

She got the vein.

"We're in!"

She then pushed the sedative into Ashley's body.

Helen then hit the same vein again with a catheter and reached over to the cart and grabbed the IV line and connected the end to the now catheter in her arm. After hooking the wire through the IV monitoring machine and hanging the bag, she turned back to the cart.

"She's responding to the diazepam." Biggie was nearly out of breath with his status alert as Ashley's body slowly digressed into shorter and shorter twitches. After about a minute she lay completely still.

Helen had opened a drawer and had pulled out a blood pressure cuff. She wrapped in securely around Ashley's right arm and pumped the pressure ball as fast as she could. Biggie reached in the open drawer and pulled out a roll of medical tape and ripped a few strips off, then gently taped them over Ashley's arm to secure the catheter in place.

"BP is 95/55" she called out.

"We need to get her under a CAT scan and an MRI as soon as possible," she ordered.

She then reached over to the cart and grabbed a thermal scanning thermometer. Running it over her forehead revealed her temperature.

"Bloody hell her temperature is 105.2!"

"I'll get the ice packs," yelled Biggie.

Helen ran over to the other side of Ashley's bed and turned on the EKG machine. She pulled free the wires bundled over the frame of the machine and attached them to the skin near her collar bones. She clicked a few buttons and a flat screen monitor turned on with her current vital signs blipping across the screen.

"I need to draw some blood."

"Already on it." Biggie was busy at the medical cart pulling out everything he needed.

"We need to get her out of these clothes too," she instructed.

After a few panicked moments Ashley was adorning the standard Sanctuary white scrub pajamas.

Helen had meticulously placed the ice packs along the sides of her legs and torso to try and cool down her body temperature.

The Big Guy stood at Ashley's side as he pricked her other arm to draw the blood samples, "Magnus, talk to her," he barked once again."

Helen stared down at Ashley from beside the bed—her flesh and blood—her Ashley.

She looked the same as she did the day her and Henry departed to Cabal headquarters. Helen had blamed herself for everything that had happened that day and after.

Now none of that mattered anymore.

Now she has her daughter back into her life.

Never did she think she could ever hold her again.

Helen leaned up and sat on the bed next to the unresponsive body. Her hand brushing back her damp blonde hair from the temples of her face.

"Ashley," she cried the name with an almost incoherent sob.

"You found your way back to me." She held still for a minute forcing her mind and soul believe what she was seeing, who she was touching; was real.

"Oh god…" Helen's eyes continued to allow for the flow of the salty tears of happiness and shock.

Her chest heaved in whimpered sobs and chokes and she verbally just let her joy and fears fill the infirmary.

Helen leaned over her holding a gauze wet with antiseptic and wiped the blood delicately from her mouth and chin. She took in the moment to see her for the first time since that day in the sublevel.

Biggie had finished taking a few vials of blood when he looked up at Helen. He had never seen her so vulnerable before, only second to the day they had Ashley's funeral ceremony.

"No one's going to take Ashley away from us Magnus. No one," he growled caringly.

Helen turned to Biggie, nodding with tears brimming her blue eyes. "No one."

Biggie nodded at her repeat of his last words.

Helen wanted so badly to lift Ashley up into her arms.

For so long she's been out of her grasp.

Helen tossed the bloodied gauze pad to the cart next to her and returned her eyes back to Ashley.

She cradled her head gently in between her hands.

"I am not going to let anything happen to you." She choked on her sobs. Tears of absolute joy continuously filling her eyes.

Helen leaned into Ashley as her rain soaked clothing drenched the white sheets of the medical bed. She gingerly wrapped her arms around her daughter gently sliding them under her arms to let her arms embrace around her. She softly rested her head on her shoulder as to not totally soak her clothing with her own wet attire.

"You found a way back to me," she cried softly as she buried her head into the fabric of the Ashley's scrub top.

Helen just sat there slumped halfway on the medical bed careful not to put too much weight on Ashley's body.

"Blood is being spun down Magnus," Biggie reported from the other side of the infirmary.

A slight groan escaped Ashley's lips as the familiar smell of the infirmary collided with the exhaustion of her body. She could feel arms around her back and a body clinging close. The beeping of monitors sounded far away and her throat was sore and her skin ached with the debilitating fever.

Helen shot up to look at Ashley.

Helen then carefully pulled her arms from around Ashley as she was afraid that any sudden movements would cause panic.

She slowly raised her hands to gently cradle her face again.

"Darling, open your eyes. Can you hear me?" Her voice quivered with every word and tears fell over her mouth as she spoke them.

Ashley's blue eyes fluttered open; lethargic and unfocused. She tried to lift her head but grimaced a cry and squinted her eyes shut.

"Mom," she painfully whimpered in a slur.

"Yes, yes," Helen cried aloud, "I'm here. I am right here." Helen leaned closer and placed a hand to her forehead tenderly brushing away her bangs.

Ashley slowly opened her eyes to the ceiling above her.

The ceiling was a shadowy grey and the light of the infirmary was dim. Her mother was more like a blur of a shadow to her.

Helen watched as she struggled to keep her eyes open—blue eyes fighting to stay level against the urge to let them slip upwards into unconsciousness.

Her eyes were blue.

Blue.

_My daughter's blue._

"Am I," she hissed in a painful frown and strained sigh."Home?"

"Yes love. You are home. Just rest now. We are running some tests to find out what's wrong," she whispered reassuringly.

Helen had another million questions to ask.

But they could wait.

Ashley's health concerns took priority right now.

Helen watched as Ashley's face again contorted into a hurtful frown as her eyes slowly peeled back into her head.

"Lathzeerus," she mumbled incoherently.

Helen's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Ashley I didn't hear you," she said as she softly ran her hand over her forehead again trying to sooth a more cognitive response.

"Ashley say that again," she asked calmly.

Ashley fluttered her eyes again trying to hold onto the word.

"La—za—rus," she sighed.

Helen tightened her jaw with the recognition of the word.

"Lazarus virus? Is that what you are trying to tell me," she questioned in concern.

Ashley's eyes closed again, her head starting to slump forward into Helen's hands. "No you stay with me Ashley," she demanded as she tried to steady the weight of her head.

"Keep your eyes open Ashley. Please. Look at me," she encouraged.

Ashley's face grimaced this time releasing tears from the corners of her eyes.

Helen wretched a sob accompanied with a comforting smile as her eyes met her daughter's. "Everything's alright. Everything is going to be alright," she promised with a warm smile.

Ashley returned a faint smile as her mother's words filled her soul with peace.

Safety.

A moment later her head fell slack in Helen's hold and she drifted back into the world of unconsciousness.

Helen leaned forward and settled closer next to Ashley and rested her forehead to her daughter's ever so gently.

_You came back to me._

_You came back._

Biggie had walked up to Ashley's bed to stand next to Helen. He laid a comforting hand on her back as his heart silently marveled at the unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's note: Happy Thanksgiving guys!

I have more chapters in the works and have noticed that a couple reviews have suggested an idea or two. If there is an aspect, theme, or just a simple idea you would like to see in the upcoming chapters please feel free to drop me a PM or a review as I will try to incorporate the idea if it can be worked into my outlines. I hope you all continue to enjoy. Thanks. :)

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><p>Chapter 17<p>

The rain falling down across Old City had turned into a thick white swirling cloud of snow fall. The heavy flakes had filled the air with its foggy presence as the November month slowly ticked nearer to December.

Within the last hour the whole of the Sanctuary's rain soaked yard was a white billowy blanket of powdery snow atop a minuscule layer of clear ice. Before the rainfall had transformed into snow the surface layer of the rain drenched yard had nearly become a frozen river. The cold atmosphere lit up the above darkness in waves of lightening as the temperatures of distant wind patterns collided as electrostatic bursts. Flashes of light streaked across the sky in quick surges as if a light bulb was being switched on and off.

Inside the Old City Sanctuary the infirmary was warm and quiet and peaceful. Soft beeps reverberated in the room along with the automatic blood pressure machine that would beep in concession every five minutes as it registered Ashley's blood pressure. The lights remained off and the only light emanating was from the above lights over each infirmary bed lining the wall. Helen had decided to keep the room lit low to avert any photosensitivity to Ashley's eyes the moment she regained consciousness again. She had fallen asleep beside her daughter on the infirmary bed within a wave of peace she had all but since lived without.

She had changed out of her wet clothing and into a thin black V-neck sweater and her regular black dress pants attire. She welcomed the warm clothes and had reciprocated the same for Ashley. Her daughter was bundled beneath a thermal blanket pulled up to her shoulders as her arms rested over the layer of warmth. Her right arm was cradled by a blue sling as Helen had discovered the bullet wound that had torn through her shoulder.

Helen had one arm wrapped across Ashley's stomach and her other holding her right hand as she lay on her side; her head gently resting on Ashley's left shoulder.

The Big Guy had been sitting in a chair next to Ashley's bed; adjacent to the empty chair to his right. Helen hadn't sat down once since Ashley was brought into the room. After the CAT scans and MRI they had quickly returned back into the room and Helen had checked the X-rays, rechecked all of the Ashley's vital signs for what seemed like the hundredth time, and ran more blood work. After she was satisfied with her efforts she climbed into the bed to cuddle beside her daughter. And when she took a mental inventory of all she had done and all she could do for the time being; she had falling fast asleep.

Biggie watched them both like a hawk as he was somewhat of their guard dog so to speak. Ashley had been like his daughter too. He had been there since she was born and had been a part of her life ever since. He loved her like a daughter just like Helen. Blood or not; she was his family. Both were and always would be. He knew not how and why Ashley had returned but sat on alert with a gun holstered to his belt. The EM Shield was of course active but Ashley's presence still held a potential threat from the unknown. After all, she had been the most strategic weapon the Cabal had ever controlled.

Biggie sighed and huffed at the sight of mother and daughter, wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, then stood up to pull down the CAT scan and MRI images from the light board positioned on the wall beside the bed; placing them on the bottom rack of the side medical cart.

Helen had found no irregularities or abnormities on the images but had found the Lazarus virus in its middle stage within Ashley's blood work. She had administered Tesla's cure and from the time her body absorbed the antidote it had taken less than ten minutes for the fever to break and for her breathing to regain its normal rhythm sinus. Ashley had some slight congestion in her lungs so Helen had propped her up on two pillows and hung an extra IV bag of an antibiotic drip. In the meantime her vitals leveled out and Helen had given her a light sedative to allow her body to adjust to the recovery of Tesla's medication as it dismantled the viral plague cell by cell.

After Helen had viewed every scanning image in meticulous detail she had spoken with the Big Guy and instructed him to let her know when Will and Henry returned from the airport with the Magoi Abnormals in refrigerated stasis and have them meet her in her study. Both Henry and Will were expected to arrive within four hours.

Once they returned back to the Sanctuary the Big Guy would then call John. She would tell them together of Ashley's return back into their lives. Helen shifted her feet as one leg was about to drop off the side of the bed. The movement stirred Ashley to open her eyes. She blinked them a few times to find her field of view clearer and more focused. Her autonomic breathing caused her to take a deep breath as she returned to the world of consciousness.

Her face had tilted down onto her mother's forehead and she was greeted with tuff of black hair as she found her mom cuddled into her side on the small bed. She felt a bit cold but immediately realized her body wasn't raging with the achiness it had earlier. She shifted her eyes down to see her body adorning a white scrub top and a white thermal blanket pulled to her shoulders; Helen's left arm wrapped securely across her stomach. Ashley finally let herself ease with the comfort of relief and security as she withdrew another breath. She attempted to raise her left hand and found her mother's hand intertwined; her grip tight as her mother's bent elbow cradled her arm against her side.

Ashley silently listened to the soft breaths of her breathing and of hers. Her chest no longer felt heavy with that wicked urge to cough but was still a bit sore. The smell of the room was of a lavender softener, no doubt from the thermal blanket. The room also smelled of the clean sterile air that it had always been.

It all looked the same to Ashley; the infirmary filled with rows of beds, medical monitors, the cream white stone walls. She peered across the room and let her eyes focus of the shaded corners of the brick in which the subdued lighting behind her could not reach. She thought of her grandfather and his kindness he showed in helping care for her. She remembered the amazing and beautifully stunning city of Praxis and the colors that begged for someone to capture in a painting.

She let a soft smile befall her face as she felt the warmth of the room around her. A quick beep and the tightening of the blood pressure cuff caused her to jolt slightly as she reacted to the machine.

Ashley squeezed her mother's hand.

Helen breathed out a sigh as the world awakened around her every sense.

She blinked her eyes and felt Ashley's grip tight around her hand.

_You're awake._ Helen twisted so she would have her left leg bent on the bed and her other down to the floor. She was met with a bruised and sutured face; blue eyes heavy with tears and a quivering smile.

"Mom," cried Ashley as she squeezed her mom's hand again. Her voice was low and nervous.

Helen's heart shuddered with the soft name spoken by her only daughter. She could not resist any longer and slid her arms around her once more as she hugged her into an embrace; smiling through flooding tears of shock. Ashley closed her eyes tight as the warm body gently pulled her from the pillows and clung to her like a lifeline. For a few tender moments neither of them spoke.

Biggie sat silent and let the mother and daughter moment last for as long as they wanted. Without a sound or show of recognition from them he left the room to allow them some time.

Soft whimpers filled the infirmary. Warm tears fell and soft groans of _I love you_ sounded over and over and over again. Helen held tight to her daughter feeling her heartbeats pound in her chest as she embraced her close. She could feel Ashley's body trembling as she softly rubbed her back in gentle circles as she clung to her everything.

_But you're my life_.

The phrase repeated in Helen's mind of the day she stood alone in the Sanctuary's chapel.

But now she was holding her life.

Again.

Living and breathing and feeling its tangible truth as she rocked her ever so gently in her arms. "Ashley, it's alright. Everything is alright," she whispered in between murmuring sobs.

Ashley shuddered against her as her breaths heaved as they do when one is crying so hard it causes them to inhale multiple breaths of air.

"Shh," she replied as she continued to rock her, "just breathe for me. Just breathe," she repeated again and again as Ashley shifted and buried her head into the crook of her mother's neck.

Ashley continued to grimace a face full of tears as her low groaning whimpers echoed around them.

Both reveled in the overwhelming comfort of the embrace—neither of them wanting the moment to end.

"You are safe," Helen whispered quietly, "you are home where you belong," she cried.

Ashley's left hand clung to a handful of Helen's black sweater as she tried to relax in the warm embrace. She feared she may never get back home. This single thought had weighed heavy on Ashley's heart with the loneliness of having been stuck in different timelines. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She didn't want to die alone.

"You came back to me," Helen whispered in a low comforting tone.

But the calm tone was wretched with a deep sob and Ashley felt her mother's chest shudder in its wake.

Ashley took in a deep breath and was surprised she could as Helen was hugging her so tight.

Helen reluctantly pulled away slowly but Ashley kept her tight grip to her sweater along the back of her neck. She didn't want to let go of the dream. She softly kissed the side of Ashley's cheek then rested her eyes back to her face to take in her daughter's lucidity for the first time in nearly three years.

Ashley's face was drawn and gravely pale. Helen immediately noticed her daughter's grip to the back neckline of her sweater and stayed close careful not to lean too far back to cause her to let go. Helen offered a shaky smile and softly cupped the side of Ashley's face with her right hand and softly traced her brow with her thumb then down to her temple just trailing over the deep sutures she had stitched in place.

"Hi," she whispered gently as a wave of happiness crashed over her like a moving tidal wave.

Ashley blinked a pool of tears that streamed down her already puffy and tear drenched face. She watched her mother's emotions bleed from deep within her eyes. She seemed to be fighting both against the raw truth and perhaps failed glimpses of a hopeful dream.

Ashley pressed her trembling lips into a uncertain smile. Hi," she answered back. The moment had become too surreal and each could not help but keep a hold on the tangible miracle that was unraveling between them.

Helen and Ashley spent the moment taking in each other's expressions; eye blinks that seemed to undam the tear wells brimming in their eyes and the visible trauma of shock that was causing their bodies to result in a trembling state. Helen had just returned from the Bering Sea Magoi Mission but it was as if the cold hadn't yet left her bones.

"I know you have questions," she said in a caring whisper, "as do I. But I need for you to answer some important ones first. Do you think you can do that for me," she said in a low comforting tone.

Helen wiped away the tears from under Ashley's eyes as she nodded to her mother, "Okay."

Helen gave her a reassuring smile, "Alright," she said as she leaned in to gently kiss her forehead. "You had a seizure. I need to know if you're dizzy; any blurred vision," her voice was weary and shaky as she observed the movement of her daughter's blue eyes.

"No," Ashley whispered, "just a little tired," she replied, almost childlike.

Helen carefully analyzed her expression as Ashley's blue eyes glanced away from her face to stare down at the bed.

She knew her daughter. Knew every facial twitch and every underlying tone in her voice and what it carried in the undercurrent of emotions.

Ashley's shuddered her words and her eyes were pitted with deep seeded sorrow and Helen knew all too well the cause. Or at least one of them.

_The Cabal._

Helen let her hands fall to Ashley's shoulders and continued her medical protocol of questions. "And how is your breathing? Any heaviness in your chest," she asked; her voice filled with concern.

"No," she said closing her eyes, "not like before."

Helen let a sigh of relief leave her lungs. "That is good," she said in relief. "Your CAT scans and MRI came back clear. Your seizure was a mild one; brought on by the high fever."

"Oh," Ashley's voice hitched as her eyes locked back to her mom's.

Helen startled a bit with the quick response of her word.

"What," she asked quickly.

"The Lazarus virus," she said nervously. "My whole body was showing symptoms I think—"

"It's alright," she assured her, "you were infected but you're fine now. There was a cure for the Cabal's virus."

Ashley stilled for a moment as the words were absorbed. "A cure," she answered in a frown.

"Yes. I need to talk to you about that. A lot has happened since you've been gone," she said in a gentle voice.

"I know. I've been gone for a long time," her eyes fell away from her mother's gaze.

"Yes, you have," Helen agreed as she gave a gentle squeeze to her left shoulder. "Can you tell me how long?" Helen had a rough idea but she needed to hear this part from her daughter.

Ashley tilted her head back up towards Helen, squinting her eyes with what looked like confusion as Helen waited for the words of the impossible.

"This is going to sound crazy," she sighed, "Gregory found me. In an underground city; he said it was May 2011."

"May 2011," Helen repeated.

Helen let her face drop with the weight of the moment.

"I just can't believe you're here sweetheart," she whispered as another wave of emotion overtook her with tears, "it worked," she cried.

"What worked mom," Ashley asked.

Helen lifted her head to level with hers as Ashley tried to calm her own nerves as she had never seen her mother so unraveled before. "Alright I need you to listen to me carefully because," she said fighting against a sob, "I am still, shocked, by all of this myself," she nodded with wide eyes, "I'll start at the beginning."

Ashley listened to her words, spoken slowly—cautiously.

"There are no words, to describe the day you teleported out of my life," she said in a shuddering whisper.

As Ashley listened it was like the whole of the room, and every sound and word her mother spoke seemed to hang in slow motion.

"You were taking from me; from us, in a way that I was defenseless to help you."

Ashley watched as the sorrow slowly contorted her mother's face into a tearful frown.

Helen was losing her emotional control on the very moment she had dreamed of for over a hundred years. Her mother stopped talking and abruptly broke down into tears again; dropping her face once more as she closed her eyes to the sting of that night.

It still hurt.

The memory.

Ashley started to cry again and latched even tighter to the hold she had on her sweater and leaned forward to hug her.

"I'm sorry mom," she breathed. "I tried to stop it. I tried to free myself from the labs and get out. But I couldn't," she muttered as her throat seized from the grief.

"I know sweetheart, I know you did," she choked unsteadily as she wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"God I tried so hard to get out," her words were more of a frantic yell now as the anger of the Cabal retched in her voice, "I didn't want to hurt anyone," she sobbed, " I'm so sorry," she whimpered irrepressibly.

"Your actions were forced upon you. This was not your doing," Helen replied calmly but her voice carried a deeper tone this time.

She pulled back quickly and cradled Ashley's face once more and tilted it up to level her square in the eyes. Ashley's eyes met her mother's and the sadness that was lost in them broke Helen's heart all over again. "You are not to blame. Do you hear me? None of this is your fault. None of this."

The last of Helen's words seem to echo inside the infirmary's stone bricked walls.

_None of this is your fault. None of this._

Helen watched Ashley's light blue eyes depress to her words and she knew the guilt was seeded deep.

For it was the whole of the Sanctuary Network that had been attacked by her daughter and the other super Abnormals.

And she knew Ashley felt responsible.

"Look at me Ashley," she demanded calmly.

Ashley kept her gaze lowered as she shifted her right arm her blue shoulder sling. She refused to make eye contact.

Helen could feel and visibly see the trauma reveal itself again as Ashley's body started to shake in small waves of shivers.

"Ashley please," she pleaded, "don't you do this to yourself. You know better than this," she ordered.

She could see the trauma was asserting itself and driving Ashley's conscious into a dark place. A place that Helen would refuse to let take hold.

"That bloody organization took you from me once and I'll be damned if it will again; not after what we've been through. Not after this."

Ashley glanced back at her mother's face.

It scared her.

Her blue eyes were wide with alarm and brimming with tears as they pooled and escaped down her face.

The vulnerability and fear that veiled her mother's face was something she had never seen before. She could see her mother painfully searching her eyes for an answer.

Ashley' face grimaced into a helpless cry, "I almost killed you. I don't know how to deal with that," she choked as her body heaved uncontrollably.

Her words took Helen off guard as she opened her mouth to speak but was only met with a silent sob.

All of a sudden the room seemed to become alive again. Ashley's train of thought was interrupted by the blood pressure cuff tightening again and the beeps echoing in the room. The moment returned her senses as she felt her body quivering with the drumming daunt of emotion.

Guilt.

Helen felt the tremble against her back as Ashley's shaky hand still gripped a hold to her sweater.

_Oh Ashley…_

Helen blinked away the salty tears and inhaled a deep sigh, "Come here," she said pulling Ashley close again. Ashley acknowledged her mother's words and once again found herself being rock like a baby in a warm and loving embrace.

Ashley closed her eyes and tried to relax as Helen ran soothing circles across her back again.

"I know this is hard on you. I know it is," she whispered softly.

Ashley just concentrated on the beeping monitors in the dim light as she blinked her eyes open every now and again.

"I understand the grief. I have been blaming myself for it all; for the mission and what happened afterwards. If there is anyone to blame you put that on me," she said gently.

The EKG machine began to beep faster as Ashley's heart rate started to elevate with the anxiety—a surge of adrenaline and anger revealing itself as a post traumatic reaction to what the Cabal had done to her.

What they had forced her to do.

Helen nervously looked up to view the cardiac waves blipping across the plasma monitor as her heartbeats increased.

"Ashley I'm here," she reassured her bringing her head nearer to the side of her face.

"I know what this is. The guilt. But do not go down this road. I won't allow it. I have spent too many days fighting to have you in my life again. Now I have you and I will not stand for anything that will steal you away from me again."

Ashley stayed silent and just buried her face into her mother's shoulder; trying to muffle the sounds of her pain.

Helen started to think that Will might be the one to keep her from sinking into that sorrow and she would take any and every path to keep from losing her daughter emotionally. After all; Will Zimmerman was a behavior psychologist—her colleague—her best friend—and protégé.

"I've had to live with this too for a very long time." Helen felt Ashley shift as she took in a deep breath; her body still shaking in her embrace.

"Life for me has changed since you've been gone but I need you to understand the reasons why you are here. Why you found yourself in Praxis."

Ashley opened her eyes again; eyes following the threaded patterns of the white thermal blanket draped over her medical scrub pants.

"You, know why I was in Praxis," Ashley asked quietly.

Helen smiled to hear her daughter's voice respond to her again.

_That's good. Keep talking to me._

"Yes. Not only did I read the messages and data from Gregory's tablet I found in your jacket," she forced a breath in between her weighted words, "but I was the one that sent you there."

Ashley was silent for a second.

"How," she asked in a low whisper; lost in confusion.

"After you teleported that night in the Sanctuary's sublevel. I thought you had died. Bloody Christ I tried for days to figure out a means of your survival," she insisted, "anything that would give me the smallest of hope that you were alive. But in the end I had to accept the reality even though everything inside me was telling me you were still alive."

Helen paused a moment to let a lung burning sob escape her throat. The deep groundswell of crippling emotion opened the flood gates to another wave of warm tears to cry.

As did Ashley.

"Years passed baby," she whimpered, "and I had to let you go to move on. God Ashley I didn't' want to," she sobbed, "I didn't want it to be real but it was. I couldn't make the pain go away so I buried myself in work to keep from falling apart. Because it would have consumed me and because at times; I wanted to."

"But how," Ashley questioned as she released her grip on the back neckline of Helen's sweater so she could wrap her arm around her all the way.

The blips on the EKG machine had gradually decreased and Helen had taken notice.

"Last summer Will and I were accompanied by two other Sanctuary team members as we traveled to a town called Carentan in France. There we found that the town was engulfed in a massive time dilation field that was causing a rift that would eventually tear apart the very planet. Inside this rift; forty years had passed in only one week. Will and I found a way in and spent 263 days living in this town before I was able to derive a device that would counteract the field and collapse it. Of course only hours had passed in our real time."

"My god mom," was all Ashley could mutter in a sigh.

"The man who was responsible was a man named Adam Worth. He used to be an old colleague of The Five but he turned mad after his daughter Imogene died of cancer in 1898. He blamed me for not helping him save her. We had believed him dead until we were brought to a warehouse on false intel about a lead on an Abnormal. There Adam trapped him and I in a time bubble. We fought and in the end I brought him back to the Sanctuary. From that moment me, John, Nikola, Will, Henry, and our colleague Kate found our way to Hollow Earth. Ashley I am telling you all of this because it is the heart of how I found a way to save you."

"Events lead us back to Adam; through a time portal he created. And I followed him back into the past to the year 1898. He was bringing a cure to his daughter and his actions would ultimately have changed the whole of history. I couldn't let that happen so like I said, I followed him. There I spend over one hundred years living through time again while trying to find a way to bring you back into my life. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again. And I wanted to find a way to do this without destroying the timeline."

"You found a way?"

"Yes love, I found a way. You are here now with me. I waited for a very long time before I gave birth to you and I had to wait even longer to fight to keep you alive. I created another Carentan device and had Nikola help me upload it to the EM Shield and EM Server. The device captured your electromagnetic signature, compiled it with a radio signal being transmitted to Hollow Earth, and carried it through a rift in time that was overlapping the EM Shield. It all took less than a nanosecond. In the blink of an eye my world changed and you along with it."

Ashley blinked, and blinked again as she slowly raised her head from her mother's shoulder to look at her.

"Seriously, holy crap," she said as she pulled her thermal blanket up to wipe the river of tears from her face.

Helen gave her daughter a warm smile.

_That sounds more like you._

"That is how you found yourself in Praxis. I knew Gregory would have the greatest means of helping you but I had also embedded images and digital voice feeds in hopes you would recall those as memories; messages that would tell you to get out of Praxis? Is that how you found a way back to me?"

"Ah, not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"I've kinda been jumping through time."

"I know, my father's tablet was detailed with a lot of that information."

"Yeah but not everything; I saw the explosion of Praxis. I felt it. Literally."

Helen's eyes softened as she saw the pain shadow Ashley's blue eyes. Helen reached over to prop the pillows up straighter and motioned Ashley to lie back down.

Ashley slumped back down into the soft down of the white pillows as Helen carefully adjusted her EKG wires so they wouldn't get tangled in the movement. "The concussive wave front knocked me back and the next thing I remember, I was in the middle of a fire fight. Bullets and cannons exploded all around me. That is how my face got hurt. A cannon ball blasted above my head sending part of a wall down over me."

"Did you say cannon fire," Helen asked apprehensively.

Ashley nodded. "Uh huh, met a Vampire too," she said raising her brow. "He was over 600 hundred years old. Which is quite young for a Vampire I might add."

Helen listened with wide eyes as her daughter continued her story.

"But that's not the best part. The best part," she paused as she adjusted the weight of her right arm, "is that the year was 1905."

"Dear God," Helen gasped.

"Bhalasaam, 1905. During the fall of the city."

"Bloody hell Ashley, how in the world?"

"Can't answer that. All I know is that I teleported there. Chatted with the Vamp, whose father was also a teleporter too."

Helen just stared in astonishment.

"After we made our way into the underground I started to feel really sick. Soon after we were trapped in a corridor by German troops. He saved my life as we took up defensive positions in the passageway. Well, he took off before I even saw him leave but a short time later I found him dead from his injury so I ran down the hallway with the last of what energy I had and imagined coming home to you."

"And you did."

"I was so scared mom, I was so afraid I wasn't going to be able to get back to you." She fidgeted again shifting her arm in her sling.

"I know but's it's alright now. That doesn't matter anymore. Okay?"

"Yeah."

"Now can you answer me this," Helen asked as she reached down to hold her hand. "I read your medical files that Gregory had uploaded on the tablet about your bullet wound but," Helen shook her head slightly in confusion. "How did this happen," she asked warily.

"Oh,…" Ashley sighed, "long story. I can't control the teleporting thing and I jumped back into time; back here. Only thing is that I awoke in the mausoleum. That is when Big Guy died. I hid behind his coffin and overheard Henry talking about you becoming ill. Anyways," she slowly wiped tears from her eye, "I was trying to get out of the Sanctuary but Declan had followed me and got a good shot off near our back harbor."

"Ashley, Biggie isn't dead sweetheart," she smiled; her eyes bright with reassurance. "We were trying to uncover a security risk that was linked through one of the Abnormals in our Network. I planned the whole thing. I had to make it look like I killed the Big Guy so we could find and reveal the threat."

"Jeez mom," Ashley sighed heavily as she wiped the salty droplets from her eyes again, "I thought he was dead."

"I know sweetie," Helen reached in her pants pocket and pulled out a folded note.

Ashley watched her as she pulled out a letter.

"You found my letter," Ashley gasped.

"I did," Helen said as she gave it to her.

"I was in Vienna Austria in 1898 when I found your father on my doorstep one night in the middle of a snow storm. He had traveled all the way from London to give me my father's cane. Soon after the cane opened and I found your letter. Nikola had discovered the cane was emitting a small electromagnetic field and he had given it to John to give to me."

"Dad and you both were in the past," she asked still holding the paper note in her left hand.

"Yes. He followed me through. But Ashley," she put a hand to her shoulder. "We found that an Abnormal was the cause of his murderous rampage. Jack the Ripper was the result of a violent species of an elemental Abnormal that John became host to over a hundred years ago. He was purged of this, moments before he followed me into the time portal. A Hollow Earth capacitor was being used to direct energy to power Adam's time rift and when John grabbed hold of the electrical coils to keep the rift open for me; the current broke free the Abnormal; releasing him from that thing."

Ashley's emotions had been dredged along so many avenues in the last few hours of her life that she just didn't really know how to respond to this news. She didn't even know her father, but knew her mother and him had a love that spanned countless decades. At least she knew now the dark in him hadn't been him alone.

Ashley decided to leave that particular moment hanging and looked back down at the letter in her left hand.

Helen reached down to help her unfold it.

"Holy crap, I just wrote this. It is so old now."

"Yes darling, I've been carrying that with me since the day I first read it. It was my hope that you would be alright; that my plan would succeed. I just didn't know if you were ever going to be able to find your way back to me. It turns out the messages and audio files failed to work as I'd hoped."

Helen brushed Ashley's bangs from her forehead. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again. You were taken from me at the beginning of your life. It was unexpected and so quick. I knew bringing you into my life would eventually have me outlive you, but you," she fought through another release of tears, "you didn't deserve this. And I am so sorry."

Ashley let her note fall to the blanket as she reached out with her left arm to pull her mom into another hug.

"Mom I don't blame you," she said as Helen leaned in to wrap her arms around her waist. "I'm just glad I am home," she wept the words, deeply.

_I'm just glad I am home._

Helen let the words bleed into her heart.

Breathing in new life.

For the both of them.

"Everything is going to be alright. I promise you. I won't let anything hurt you again."

Ashley's huffed a sigh.

"Just promise me you will let me go on missions again one day," she whispered between a heave of tears.

"Perhaps on your seventieth birthday I will make an exception."

Helen felt a small giggle resound and smiled.

"Ashley there is something else you must know. Your Sanguine Vampiric genes are completely dormant now. Your last blood test confirmed this. But the mutations also brought on by the Source Blood have changed you. The same way it did for me in the spring of 1886—giving you the gift of longevity."

"We no longer have to be afraid of being alone."

_Alone._

_Not ever again._

_I promise you._


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Helen let the gravity of her daughter's soft words of _I'm just glad I am home _continue to resound in her mind. Her plan was not in vain. None of it—and she let her determination and willingness to never give up on her daughter fill her with its overwhelming joy.

Helen let her memories slip back nearly twenty six years ago as she remembered Ashley as an infant; having her fragile tiny warm head supported against her neck as she would speak softly to her as she slept in her arms—both of them in the hold of a rocking chair. It had been her favorite moments when Ashley was a newborn. As the midnight hours bled into the dawn Helen would just sit and rock her tiny daughter in her arms in the absolute quiet of her Sanctuary. Often the Big Guy would stop in just to check to see if everything was okay. He would always make a caring gesture to offer her a blanket or a cup of tea and never left without placing his soft burly hand to Ashley's head with a gentle kiss goodnight. Such moments were treasured in Helen's heart. And in a small way; this new start of days with Ashley is beginning the same way all over again.

Helen's heart wept of the happiness from the miracle wrapped in her arms.

Ashley was home.

Ashley kept her head buried in the crook of her mother's neck and just allowed Helen to continue to rock her in silence. Her mother's hold was firm and unflinching and Ashley had never felt so safe and loved as she did now. She hadn't spoken since Helen told her of the Source Blood's effect and its gift of longevity. But then again, how does one even dare to comprehend its magnitude—an occurrence that will change all that you know of living.

Helen glanced up at the EKG monitor and watched as the slightly elevated cardiac blimps pulsed across the black screen. All vitals were still within normal and she could feel that Ashley had significantly digressed from the intense tremors that had once racked her body quite violently.

Ashley was so tired—so mentally exhausted from it all.

For her it was mere hours ago that she had grabbed a deathly hold to the wrist of the super Abnormal. Just moments is seemed like she was standing a few feet from her broken mother in agonizing pain as she watched her only daughter disappear from existence— for what she believed to be forever.

The image still made Ashley sick. Every time she remembered it.

Ashley slowly released her left arm from around her mother and cradled it into her lap but refused to move from the warm comforting embrace. Helen just secured her arms around her tighter as she noticed that most of her own strength was keeping Ashley from slumping back away from her. She was starting to regret telling her about the Source Blood effects so soon. Longevity was something she herself was still trying to adjust to. Even after all these years.

Ashley still cried the tears of guilt and remorse as they ebbed from her closed eyes. She could feel their warmth presence slide down her cheeks and to the corner of her mouth. A small shudder announced a still grieving daughter lost in the torrent of emotions.

Helen turned her head slightly to kiss the side of Ashley's temple as she continued to bury her forehead into her mother's neck.

"There, there," she said very softly. Helen slid her right hand up higher to cradle the back of Ashley's neck. "I'm here," she whispered. Helen couldn't contain another surge of blurring tears from her eyes too as she now nestled her head into the crook of Ashley's. "We're going to be alright," she promised as she gave a gentle squeeze to the back of her neck, "we are going to get through this… together."

Ashley felt her body fading in and out of twilight as her mother's soothing voice echoed in and out from her weak hold to the waking world. She continued to stay silent without responding but Helen in some way; had expected it. She refused to pursue any further communication; there would be time for that. But right now both mother and daughter needed to feel the security of being in each other's lives again.

Helen closed her eyes and continued rocking her. Quiet beeps from the monitors and another crumbling of velcro fabric revealed itself as the blood pressure cuff took her vitals once again. Ashley winced at the sound and Helen had guessed she must have falling asleep and the sound had startled her.

Ashley's body gradually became heavier and more slumped into Helen's arms as she drifted into the realm of sleep. A few minutes later she was lost in the world of dreams leaving Helen to ease her head and shoulders into her lap.

Helen could still feel the shock burning through her bones and her soul.

Helen tried to put the realization to words. But couldn't. In some ways it was a new emotion—one fleeting like still moments in a happy daydream. Like ideas, wishes, and delusional hopes that were once dreamed about John returning to her as he used to be; such happiness that was only allowed to manifest in an illusory state.

_John._

She still regretted not letting him be a part of her secluded life. It had broken her heart that morning when he had asked her if she wanted him to stay. Her heart and soul was screaming yes, but she was so afraid he would find out her plan to bring back Ashley and she feared he would only get in the way. She could have told him about the note. She could have explained that her life seemed meaningless without her daughter by her side—this loneliness and sorrow that was haunting her every moment of everyday though she hid it well.

But she was too much afraid of the unknowns.

She didn't want to risk it.

So she let John fall away. But he had never stopped loving her. And with every telegram and every meeting he made it known to her.

Perhaps now she could have the family she had always dreamed of…

John was free.

Ashley was alive again.

The world seemed to no longer stand still with the debilitating loss from lover and of daughter.

Helen's dreams had come true.

Ashley stirred again then shifted her head that was nestled into the crook of Helen's left arm. Helen's gaze was fixated on her back as she watched with every breath she breathed. She still was fighting against the shock of the incredible. Even as she stared down at her daughter the whole of the moment was too surreal for her heart and mind to comprehend—like the time when Helen had held Ashley for the first time in her arms.

Such memories for Helen were too precious for words.

The blood pressure cuff released its pressurized grip and once again went slack around Ashley's arm. Ashley again jerked with the reverberating beeping sound. Helen glanced over at the BP monitor while running gentle circles across her back.

If it was one thing Helen could do for Ashley; it was allowing her to find peace in sleeping. She had another syringe full of a light sedative but would wait a while before administering it. She knew her condition was fragile but she would at least be able to make her comfortable while asleep.

A light knock on the door broke the silence.

"Yes," Helen called out in a low voice.

The infirmary door creaked open and Biggie peeked in carrying a tray of tea in two small white china tea cups. He paused in the doorway then walked quietly in after Helen gave him a welcoming nod.

Helen returned her gaze back down to Ashley as she gently ran her fingers through her soft blonde hair.

"How is she," asked the Big Guy as he placed the tea tray on the top of the red medical cart beside Helen.

"She's alright for now," she whispered softly though Biggie could pick up the worrying tone in her voice, "the Sanguine genes are dormant; Nikola's cure shed the virus," she sighed, "and she just fell asleep."

Biggie huffed lightly, "Hmm. What about you? How are you holding up?"

Helen tried to find words for his question. But all she could do was return a blank stare.

The Big Guy nodded sympathetically and placed a hand to her shoulder.

"Sally surfaced in her tank and hit the emergency call button. I went down to see her. She knows Ashley is here. She can sense it."

Helen closed her eyes. "Dear Lord I forget how sensitive she is to emotions," she took in a deep breath blinking away tears, "I'll make sure to speak with her but for right now I'm not leaving Ashley's side."

Sally was family too. She was kind of like a big sister to Ashley. Sally had felt a presence during that November month two years ago. She had almost believed it was Ashley even though it had made no logical sense. But now the emotions from both Helen and daughter, and even that of the Big Guy were like fireworks cascading throughout the Sanctuary. Such emotions did not need a hand to the glass to be shared—or understood.

Helen had taken in Sally nearly 22 years ago and she had never forgotten the day when Ashley met Sally…

* * *

><p>"We're going to see the fishy; we're going to see the fishy!" Ashley skipped merrily along side Helen swinging her one free arm as they walked up to the elevator.<p>

With her other little hand clutching lovingly to her mother's, a four year Ashley danced with joy as her cotton white dress whirled and her soft blonde hair bounced across her shoulders.

Helen was excited too. This would be the first time Ashley would meet the Mermaid.

Helen stopped in front of the elevator and reached over to press the button to open the heavy iron doors. Ashley sprang forward and happily laughed as her tiny fingers pressed the button before Helen. "And down we gooo," Ashley squealed with a giggle as she smiled proudly in remembrance.

Helen let a laugh release in a heartfelt giggle. When Ashley was just a little baby she would say the exact same words as she cradled her in her arms and entered the elevators of her Sanctuary. It was a mother and daughter ritual from day one.

"And down we go," repeated Helen. Helen flashed a smile and bent down with open arms. "Come here love." Ashley reached up with her little arms and was quickly swept up into her mother's hold.

"I think _someone_ is excited to see the Mermaid. Oh, _who_ could it be?" Helen glanced around behind her pretending to search for the little soul about to burst with glee.

"Meee mommy! Me, me, me!" Ashley wrapped her arms around Helen's neck in a tight loving embrace and rested her head on her shoulder.

"Now remember what I told you sweetie," Helen explained as she entered the elevator, "she is not like you and me. She is different."

"I know mommy," Ashley said in her high pitch little voice, "she is a big fishy," she replied with great confidence knowing that it was in fact true. Sally was a big fish. Well sort of.

Helen let out another laugh. "Yes, she is a fish, but she also looks like you and me. She has eyes, ears, and a nose just like we do."

The elevator creaked open with a rush of cool air. The steel doors retracted to reveal the long wide corridor leading to the open center of the sublevel.

Helen lowered her daughter to the stone floor and walked out holding tightly to her little hand.

Ashley squealed and released her tangled grip from Helen's hand and started to run across the open area of the subterranean level—her small My Little Pony sneakers scuffing the cold stone beneath her as she ran.

She giggled all the way to the clear glass and pressed her little nose to the enclosure—blinking hard to see through the glare of the glass.

It was evening and the sun had just set casting a darkness into the sublevel. Small florescent blue lights sparkled from the coral reef entangled on the bottom surface of Sally's living space. Oranges and yellows also glowed through the watery environment.

Ashley's blue eyes absorbed the bright colorful world of the marine habitat. As her eyes fell upon the glowing colors she awed at the scenery. "Oooh pretty mommy!"

"Yes it is love," Helen agreed. "Look Ashley, look back there do you see that big cave?" Helen cupped the back of Ashley's head softly and ran her fingers through her hair as she knelt down beside her.

"Is that where she lives?" Ashley stretched, trying to balance on her tiny tippy toes as if it would allow her to view every inch of the magical world before her in greater and closer detail.

"It is. That is the Mermaid's house," Helen said joyfully.

The water was clear and had a blue tint encompassing it. Beyond the glass in the background was something that looked like a cave entrance. The gray and dark shaded coal colors resembled a realistic rock formation. Ashley took her face away from the glass momentarily disappointed when she didn't see anything.

Ashley looked up at her mother with curious and impatient eyes.

"Momma, where is the fish lady?"

Helen placed her hands gently to the sides of her waist, pulling her close—her voice low and warm. "Just wait baby. She's in there. She may be inside her little home."

"The cave!"

"Yes," she smiled.

Ashley pushed her face to the cold glass again, making her nose appear twice its size.

A figure slowly made its way from the inside of the cave.

Ashley watched as Sally's green tail swished in the water. She noticed instantly that her skin was blue; just as Helen had told her. Sally smiled warmly and stopped a few feet from the glass wall as she slowly raised her hand to wave at Ashley.

Ashley beamed a smile as she waved back. "Hello Miss Fish Lady!" Her excited greeting echoed though the sublevel. Ashley started to giggle as she took in the site of the huge being before her—her face still smashed to the glass.

Sally swished her tail once more playfully and drifted down closer to the bottom of her tank.

The Mermaid raised her shiny slippery blue hand and took a finger and gently tapped at Ashley's nose from behind the glass.

Ashley watched as her mouth failed to answer with a response.

Ashley gave a squeaky whine and pressed her face further into the glass, "I said hellooo Miss Fish Lady," her voice polite with a hint confusion not knowing why she had not said hello in return.

Helen nearly fell down to the floor in hysterics as her face turned bright red from the hilarious sweet moment of Ashley's attempt in getting the _Fish Lady_ to answer her.

"Mommy can she hear me?"

"Now remember what I told you dear. She cannot talk like us because she lives underwater."

Ashley placed her left palm to the glass, "Oh I remember. I have to do this." Her blues eyes widened with amazement as Sally touched the glass placing her hand over Ashley's.

"Oh mommy, I hear her! I can hear her!" Ashley quickly turns her head to face Helen. "She is talking to me!"

"Indeed she is love. What is she saying?"

"She is saying," she presses her face back to the glass deeply concentrating on the words floating in her head. "She says, thank you for her new home. She says,.. she says she loves the colors and says they are,.. they are very pretty!"

Helen smiled and gave a nod up to Sally. Sally smiled and turned her head to look behind Helen.

A sound of peddling and screeching plastic tires across the stone floor announced a spikey haired 10 year old Henry arriving on his Transformer's Big Wheel.

"Henry," laughed Helen, "where have you been?"

Henry fish tailed his _car _inches from Helen's feet. "Hi momma," he called out, "Oh, I mean Doc," he said with a sheepish grin. He pulled out a hand full of toy figurines from his blue folded shirt and raised them up to show Helen and Ashley. "Been playing with my Thundercats," he said lost in the innocence of youth. "Hey Ash! I made a fort from your mom's computer boxes. Wanna play with me?"

Ashley turned to look back at Sally with disinterest from his offer to play.

"I am talking to the Mermaid Henry," she answered rather aristocratically. How dare he interrupt her amazing moment with the majestic creature. "Now run along," she huffed.

Helen covered her mouth with her hand trying desperately to contain her laughter. That was her phrase for the children whenever she had to finish her Sanctuary work and needed the nice and quiet to keep her focus. It was beyond cute she thought.

"Okay Ash I'll see ya later."

With that he placed his toys back into his lap, covered them by folding the edge of his shirt and back peddled away with a cheeky smile.

In a second he was speeding off out of sight around the corner wall. Moments later Helen heard the toy car crashing into a pile of cardboard boxes and a voice echoing from the collision. "Aww man…"

* * *

><p>Biggie's voice brought her out of her memories.<p>

"Did she say anything about where she's been?"

For a moment Helen had lost track of time and had wondered how long she had been sitting in utter silence.

"She's been in Praxis," she said bluntly.

The Big guy huffed again—louder. Helen raised her head to look at him.

"I did this. I saved her."

Both Biggie and Helen just stared at each other. The Big Guy watched her blue eyes intently noticing the deep hurt, loss and what looked like fear welling in them.

"I don't understand," Biggie rumbled low as he offered her a tissue from the medical cart. He tried to hide the confused quivering in his voice but Helen heard it nonetheless.

His head was reeling as much as her's but for different reasons. He nearly collapsed when he saw Ashley at the front gate. He still couldn't believe it now. The last time he saw her she was slashing away at everyone, everything in her path. He had lost all expectations in ever seeing her again whereas Helen had been holding onto a thread of hope for over a hundred years.

Helen took the tissue in her right hand and blotted her eyes. Biggie watched her eyes turn steel blue as she turned back to him clutching the damp tissue.

"No one can begin to understand what Ashley meant to me," she whispered as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand attempting to stop her chin from quivering.

"For nearly a hundred years after I found out I was carrying her I waited for what I believed to be the right time to bring her into my life; to give her life."

The Big Guy bent down on his knee and placed his large hand to her back. He listened silently.

"I… I will never forget how I felt when I saw my daughter for the very first time. Never," she sobbed deeply as she dropped the wet tissue to fall upon the floor then bringing her hand back to Ashley's back. She closed her eyes tight, smearing tears from her eyes as she recalled the day Ashley was born.

"She was so incredibly tiny, so fragile and at that moment; as I had done when I fought out I was pregnant with her—I vowed to keep her safe from harm whatever the means," she sighed heavily, "but I failed. My judgment was blinded and because of it the Cabal butchered her and I am all to blame."

Helen watched as tears fell from his big blue eyes as he listened.

"Before I followed Adam back to past London I downloaded all data from the day Ashley," she paused as she struggled to take in a breath, "teleported. I also had extensive information about Adam's time node and the Praxis device that was used on Will. Nikola helped me by uploading data protocols to the EM Shield Core and attaching a Carentan device to the EM Server. Ashley's electromagnetic signature was sent to Praxis via a low wave radio band and through a rift to the future."

Biggie was stunned. His only coherent response was another huff. And a blink of his eyes.

Helen raised her hand to place it to Biggie's shoulder almost as a plea to agree with the decision she has made. She blinked through swell of tears. "Old friend," she whispered softly as she leaned closer to him careful not to disturb Ashley's sleeping state, "I could never live with myself if I let the past repeat itself all over again. Bloody Christ," she whimpered as she lost her composure, "I watched her die. I watched my own daughter die." She bit her lip to keep a sob from hiccupping deeply from her chest, "I was given another chance to make things right."

Biggie's eyes were wide and brimming with curiosity and empathy.

"Tell me I did the right thing," she cried. Helen's brow furrowed and she clenched her teeth fighting off another wave of uncertainty for the decision she made.

Biggie slowly rose to his feet to bring her into a loving embrace. His voice rumbled low and his words were spoken slowly.

"You have given her life. That is the greatest gift of all. And you have done this twice. You need not regret such a miracle."

Helen buried her head into his chest. She had known him for over 50 years and had saved his very life. There was no other she trusted or confided in more. The heart of the matter was that she feared the emotional turmoil that would result—the guilt that had the potential to engulf her daughter so much that she would pull away from her had she returned to her.

She pulled back slowly.

Helen sighed and paused before she answered keeping her gaze down to Ashley; once again running gentle circles across her daughter's back. "She's had to endure, so much but for right now I… I just want her to rest. The shock is expected but I just fear that she will eventually," she lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I fear she will start to pull away from me with the weight of what has happened to her," she paused again trying to muffle a heavy sob, "I could see it in her eyes when she looked at me. Dear god,…" she broke down again covering her face with her right hand, "…how did I ever let this happen."

The Big Guy stepped closer to stand right next to her and bent down again on one knee. As he placed a hand to Helen's knee he reached across to place his other to cup Ashley's head. "Magnus," he grumbled low as he failed too to contain his emotions, "Ashley has a family that will protect her. We will not let her slip away. I promise you this."

Helen kept her face covered with her hand. She could not even begin to fathom the pain and guilt Ashley was carrying. She could only try to understand it by comparing it to her's.

"If only I hadn't let her go with Henry. If only I had made her stay."

"She is a stubborn child. You know Ashley would have done it anyway. She is more like you than you would like to admit," Biggie said as he patted Helen on the knee.

Helen knew he was right. Knowing her daughter she would have gone straight to the armory with Henry and burned rubber on her motorcycle on their way to the Cabal facility. If Ashley had a plan that had even the smallest chance of success; she would see it viable. No matter the risks. She was a fighter but level headed—most of the time Helen reassured herself. And their life was nothing less than extraordinary and full of constant danger and so the risks and consequences are the same.

But then again—Ashley would not stand for anything to jeopardize the life of her family and she would ultimately give her own life to keep them all safe—as she proved on the very night of October 16th.

"I just… I want her to be okay."

"And she will be Magnus. It may take time but she will heal of this."

"I didn't come this far to lose you now," she said as she softly ran her fingers through Ashley's hair.

Helen looked over at the medical cart and nodded to a syringe. "Can you please hand me that syringe."

Biggie reached beside him to grab the ampule. "I can sit with her Magnus if you want to go lie down."

Helen took the syringe and gently pulled out Ashley's arm to inject the sedative in the catheter. "I'm alright. I am not leaving her side. Not for a moment."

Both the Big Guy and Helen watched as the sedative emptied from the syringe. Helen handed the empty vial back to Biggie. He nodded as he stepped back to take a sit in the chair behind him; placing ampule back to the cart. "Then it is settled then. We both stay."

Helen returned a weary smile and waited a few moments then carefully lifted Ashley into her arms and lowered her back into the pillows of the infirmary bed.

She then fidgeted with the blood pressure cuff, rechecked her arm catheter then pulled the white thermal blanket back over her. After she reviewed all of her vital signs she crawled up to cuddle beside her daughter once again.

Helen could hear the soft whimpers from the Big Guy resound in the dim light as he sat quietly in the chair.

Helen gently rested her head to Ashley's shoulder once more, wrapped her arm around her and quietly cried herself to sleep with the miracle she had also given back to herself—the gift of motherhood.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Helen pushed the revolving infirmary door open and walked out. Before the white door closed back she turned around to face back into the room. Biggie was standing next to Ashley's bed with his head tilted to the side. His face ticked in a few nods as he huffed out a smile looking down at a memory come real again.

Helen didn't want to leave Ashley alone for a second—and it pained her so much to do so as she stood their looking in on them.

Biggie looked over to the doorway and nodded to reassure her that he would watch over her; and to not worry. She returned a smile through watery filled eyes and walked out into the hallway as her soft footfalls quietly tapped the shiny floor beneath her.

_Everything is going to be okay;_ she told herself. The hard part was over.

The planning—the hoping—the dreaming.

With the weight of what she was about to tell Will, Henry, and John; she hadn't even noticed she had been holding her breath until she reached halfway down the darkened hallway. She took a calming breath and closed her eyes for a few steps.

She ambled hesitantly down the long corridor then opened her eyes again to stare down at the floor. Her eyes analyzed the rectangular and square patterns that crisscrossed and intertwined its distances from between the dull plastered walls. She glanced over at the mahogany side tables and at the pictures on the wall and recalled the exact year she had bought them and from what country. All was the same but all was different in her home. The Sanctuary seemed to be alive again; filled with more purpose and a deeper fervor for living—meaning.

Helen reached in her pocket to pull out the hundred year old note written by her daughter. She couldn't recall how many times she had read it and its weak surface proved just that. It had been a key to her heart for everything she had spiritedly hoped to accomplish. The frayed paper was also the safety net that had kept her hopes alive within the loneliness and seclusion and she would give it to Will and Henry to read over once she told them everything. After all, Ashley's words too had included the two men.

As Helen turned the corner towards the elevator lift she gave a half smile at a small window bench overlooking the snow covered lawn of the Sanctuary. The windows of the library below were casting a soft glow over the fresh powder illuminating it as if it was a sea of sparkling diamonds in the night.

This small view from its windowpane had been one of many of the Sanctuary's that would offer a story time moment between mother and daughter; other than in her study in front of a warm chimney fire.

So many memories were enveloped between its sundry walls.

And now there would be many more.

Helen pressed the button and waited for the elevator to creak open. Her eyes burning of unmeasureable happiness with having found—what was once lost.

* * *

><p>Biggie brushed away at Ashley's bangs with a tender touch from his palm.<p>

He took a moment to look down at his precious friend he had known since birth. Like a doting father he smiled through soft tears with the sight before him.

"You are going to be just fine little one," he said as he took a seat next to her. "You need not fear anything anymore. We won't let any harm come to you." His soft rumble was encompassed with deep care and compassion. Ashley's eyes danced beneath her eyelids but did not open.

He gently placed his hand over Ashley's. "I guess I can say I am as shocked as you are. And I am still confused on how you have come back to us. But I know Helen will tell me more when her heart has time to calm." Biggie sighed quietly to himself.

"I had believed that Tesla was going to be able to find a way to reverse what the Cabal had done to you. I also thought we were going to be able to bring you home after the UK Sanctuary incident. Tesla's device was so close to neutralize the changes that had been forced upon you."

Biggie patted her hand softly.

"The day you left us…" Biggie huffed back his large tears, "was the day I too lost a daughter." The Big Guy closed his eyes to the sadness from the moment only to find Ashley's fingers curling around his robust hand. He lifted his head to see her looking up at him. Her blue eyes bright but laced with drowsiness.

"Big Guy," she whispered with a shaky smile.

"Hello there," he rumbled wearily.

"Where's, my mom?"

"She just left for a moment," he assured her. "She will be back shortly. Will and Henry have just returned and she went to go speak with them, and your father."

"Oh," she said trying to blink away the effects of the light sedative.

The Big Guy watched as she fluttered her eyes closed then fought again to keep them open to look at him.

"I thought you…were dead."

Biggie took hold of her hand. "It was all a plan by your mother and me. I'm okay."

"I see that," she smiled wide almost in a giggle as she raised her head a little ways off the pillow, "large and in charge; that has always been, your game."

He laughed that familiar rumble that had always put Ashley at ease, especially after her nights having to negotiate endlessly to acquire weapons from their once arms dealer Silvio. Or after tough missions she and her mom had to undertake through the years. The laugh warmed her heart between the twilight realm of wake and sedation as she let her head fall back into the soft pillow. "I love you, Big Guy," she whispered drifting back into sleep.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p>Helen stopped before she was in sight of the open doorway to her study. She could hear John's voice lingering out into the hallway; the voice of her daughter's father. She inhaled a breath in attempt to calm her nerves then walked into the open doorway.<p>

"Helen," John said as he stood from the red leather chair closet to the chimney.

"Gentlemen."

"Magnus what's going on?" Will asked with folded arms while leaning against her bureau table.

Helen stopped at the small round table in front of the window facing the Old City River. She watched as a sparse flurry of snowflakes made their way down from the darkened sky. The white frozen symmetrical patterns of nature danced with the soft wind trails as each fell slowly over the icy lawn.

She kept Ashley's face in the fore front of her mind. But mostly her daughter's blue eyes and warm exhausted smile that was conformed to her face the moment she woke up in the infirmary. God she had rehearsed how she was going to tell them all about this. But she felt her body becoming numb once again and her vision began to lose focus on the here and now.

"Doc, what's the matter?" Henry stood up from the sofa and walked over to her. John followed. As did Will.

Helen ran her fingers across the neckline of her sweater as she turned to face the men standing in front of her. Each noticed the tremble in her hand and that of her voice when she addressed them upon entering. Her emotions were spinning wildly as she searched their worried and scared faces perplexed at her expression. The room seemed as if it was tilting into a black haze.

John placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from swaying backwards into the small table behind her.

"Helen," he called out as he embraced her with an arm to hold her around the mid of her back. "Doc?" Henry's voice was rattled and unhinged as Helen try to balance herself against John's hold.

Her blue eyes leveled again as she looked around taking in her surroundings. "I'm alright, I'm alright," she sighed as she shook her head and blinked her eyes to clear away the black invading her field of vision.

"Here Magnus sit down." Will pulled out her computer chair from her desk.

"No I'm fine, I assure you. I'm just tired." Her voice was direct and professional and hinted that she didn't want to be questioned about it again. John continued to hold her close and watched her eyes as they darted back and forth from each man.

Helen placed her hands on John's forearms and steadied her swimming head. Then she locked eyes with _her _John.

It was better to just say what she wanted in all its simplicity.

"Ashley is alive."

Silence.

Helen glanced away from John's frozen eyes to look at Henry. His eyes had transformed into the bright yellow of his inner lichen. Henry was instantly overcome with the anger from what the Cabal had done to Ashley; and the loss he had felt when he learned that Ashley had teleported into the EM Shield. All emotions came flooding in triggering the fiery flare of his eyes even though nearly three years had passed. His first thoughts were that Helen had located her—in another city, another continent. Then he started to remember Ashley's last state and how she was a raving uncontrolled weapon of the Cabal. How on Earth would they be able to bring her back to the Sanctuary?

Helen starting crying again and reached out to hug John; his black leather jacket crunched beneath the pressure of her embrace.

"That note that was in my father's cane. It…it was from Ashley."

John was still holding on to the part where _Ashley is alive._

Will dragged his hand across his face and nearly fell into the computer chair he had pulled out beside him. He nearly smashed the walkie in the back of his jeans pocket as he leaned back into the chair.

Helen let her heart flutter as her body was absorbed by John's warm hold. She had denied her affections for him from pure fear of what his reaction would have been if she'd told him. But a weight was being lifted right now knowing she could tell him why she had pushed him away.

"Living through time again after I followed Adam to London; I had planned to try and save Ashley to keep her from dying. And I did it. John, I am so sorry I couldn't tell you. I needed to do this on my own please try to understand my decisions." As she clung tight to him she peered over at a wall table behind her bureau, and stared at her picture of Ashley.

John was utterly speechless as the words seemed to shudder into his soul like a freight train.

When he had first felt the rush of inner peace returned to his soul his only thoughts were of Helen; the freedom was intoxicating and all he wanted to do was find her and sweep her off her feet as he had done all those years ago at Oxford—to finally give her the life she deserved; that she wished they could have once had. To him, his release from the maddening monster was all that was left in keeping them apart. For their centuries long love had never truly died.

Helen still felt like she was spinning in a surreal dream – one too powerful to hold in the palm of your hand to critique every angle and aspect of its truths. Her heart was feeling like it was on cloud nine traversing all her happy moments she had only been able to represent in her waking daydreams and innocent dreams. John was no longer in the grips of the tyrannical entity and holding him now felt like the first time she'd met him.

So much of her life was falling back into place; structuring itself into a life puzzle that would finally allow her to slow down at last finding balance in her life.

Helen released a blur of tears as she heard Henry choking back his own shock from her words. She quickly pulled back from John to cup Henry's face in her hands. He was standing inches from her face with a blaze of lichen yellow bright with confusion. Her mind was racing with unbalanced emotions and memories and she just wanted to assure and comfort all who knew Ashley to let them know she was okay. Though there was still so much to explain.

"She's here in the infirmary," she whispered low.

Henry felt his heart drop to his stomach hearing that she was home. "Her genes have gone dormant, so she is _no_ threat to anyone. She's sedated and sleeping. I found her at the front gate. "

Henry's eyes slowly receded and faded from the glowing yellow back to his natural blue. Tears broke from the rim of his eyes and he pulled her into the tightest of embraces.

"Henry I couldn't let her die again. Not when I had a chance to change things." Henry let his shock expose itself into a heavy cry as Helen cried into his shoulder. "I downloaded information onto that Hollow Earth Sim Card you had back engineered for us. It was the reason why she's here. I saved every last piece of data from her teleporting into the EM Shield, and from Adam's time node and the memory recall device that was used on Will. I had to do it," she cried, "I had to."

Henry clenched his jaw with a wave of emotion. He could physically feel Helen shaking against him as her chest heaved with her sobs.

Helen was so tired of crying but could not will herself to stop.

Will stayed quiet in the chair. Family was what she needed now and although he was stunned and shocked just as everyone else, he chose to remain silent without a bombardment of endless questions from his professional and very inquisitive mind.

Henry pressed the side of his face closer to Helen's, "can we see her?"

Helen whimpered as she leaned back from him—John still placing a kind hand to her back.

Helen wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her black sweater. "I first want you and Will to read this letter." She reached down in her pocket and pulled the tattered note out and handed it to Henry. "It explains more of what Ashley has been through. But I want to take John to see her first after all he is her father. But I need you all to understand that she's been through so much and I don't want a lot of interaction just yet. I will let you all see her but I want to keep her close. It is going to take time for her to adjust to all of this."

Henry nodded with a face full of tears as he opened the note.

"John followed me back into 1898 to give me my father's walking stick. Inside was a letter from Ashley, she wrote to me. Tesla had found that the cane was emitting a low magnetic field and wanted me to check it out. Obviously my father designed it to open if it ever came in contact with me. I just suspect that it didn't first when I found it in Hollow Earth; perhaps the explosion disrupted the electronic resonating frequency that was put in place to recognize me?"

"That could have been what happened Doc," Henry rasped as he stared at the inked paper. The wheels of his techno mind were always turning even in the middle of the most delicate of moments. "The force of the explosion could have short circuited it somehow."

"That sounds probable." Helen turned to look at Will still sitting in her computer chair. She just wanted to get back to Ashley and giving the least amount of information needed was all she could handle for now.

"Will, you stay here with Henry. I'll come get you both later okay."

"Yeah," he nodded with wide eyes, "we'll be here."

"Alright."

Helen reached out to hold John's hand, placed a soft palm to Henry's cheek as he looked back at her and smiled. "Everything is going to be alright Henry. I'll let you see her shortly."

"Okay Doc."

With that Helen and John walked out of her study and closed the door behind them.

They both walked in silence until they came to another small benched sill in front of a large open window. The glass had become silted with snowflakes through a view overlooking the center yard. Helen motioned with her hand to sit down on the small cushioned bench. He sat down next to her; his face still and hard to read.

She reached to hold tight to his hands cupping them in her's. She took in a deep breath.

"Losing Ashley destroyed my heart," her voice cracked and quivered as she lost the control to keep her tone steady. John squeezed her hand offering a comforting touch and a sympathetic expression that harbored a wall of tears.

"I had blamed myself for letting her and Henry leave to break in the Cabal facility those years ago." She glanced away to look out over the immense snow covered lawn and watched as a heavier snow fall announced its arrival as it blew its thick snowflakes into the glass. "God I just didn't know how to live without her. She was my life—like you were once."

"Helen," he rumbled low. "No John, please let me finish," she said turning back to him.

"When I first learned of Adam's plan to return to the past my entire being started to contemplate cause and affect possibilities of saving her. So I started to think on ways I could make it happen."

"I knew how delicate the thralls of time were and consequences on meddling within the timeline. So I began thinking of places I could send her; to keep her out of history and with someone I could trust entirely."

John squeezed her hand with his.

"I didn't have much to go; just an insane idea. But I had downloaded an immense amount of related data on my iPhone Sim card and carried it with me into the past. James had incinerated all of my belongings shortly after I arrived but I had removed the Sim Card of my iPhone before it was destroyed."

"When time allowed me to implement my plan technologically; I began creating a device that would open the very fabric of space allowing for a rift to open, and I sent Ashley's EM signature to Praxis via a low wave radio signal to the year 2011."

Helen watched as John's pupils darkened in size as his jaw slowly fell slack with disbelief.

"Being trapped in a time dilation bubble with Will in Carentan this past summer; it forced me to create a device that would counteract the time dilation field; collapsing it to keep the effects from destroying the planet. So I once again built a similar device that would be the heart of my plan. I needed Tesla's genius to finish the plan and contacted him. He helped program the EM Shield to recognize Ashley's electromagnetic signature the very moment she teleported and then combine it with a directed radio signal that was programmed to transmit the very second her signature was detected."

"With the Carentan device active and connected to the Sanctuary's EM Server, Ashley was sent to the future to the city of Praxis by the Carentan device that was uploaded to the EM Server. There my father played a hand in keeping her safe."

"Dear god Helen. I wish I had known. I would have helped you…"

John's release of his words were caring and confident and without judgment. Helen instantly felt sick to her stomach with the tone in which he spoke them. Not only was it what she had hoped would be his answer if her plan ever was to be revealed to him, but the sincerity of his voice melted her heart all over again like the night of his proposal on their carriage ride.

And there it was—his answer to her plan.

"That is the very reason I had to keep this from you. I feared your reaction. I had to believe that if I had any chance, any chance at all, I would have to keep the secret and do it myself. I was afraid you would have tried to persuade against my choice to save her."

"You carried this around for over one hundred years. And you never had the heart to tell me?"

"I'm sorry John but like I said, I believed it was the right thing to do. I was meddling with time for god sakes! I was afraid I would lose her forever—all over again. I couldn't take the risk. Please forgive me."

She searched his expression for a reaction but all she found was hurt and a gaze that left her face to stare out into the snowy night. John sat silent his heartbeats thudding so hard that he felt his chest vibrating. He still held tight to her hands as he watched the snowflakes cling to the glass windowpanes.

Silence befell mother and father as broken emotions twirled like the frozen wisps outside the window.

John watched as lights from a passing car glared across the bend. As the car disappeared from view the quiet night was returned to the snow falling spectacle.

"I am sorry I was not the father and husband to Ashley and you."

"Don't you dare John," she ordered. "You were taken from us by that monster. Ashley has enough suppressed guilt in her and I will not have you do the same. Look at me John Druitt."

His eyes focused on her's, then closed in a nodded bow.

"Ashley has both of us now." She paused to let a sob pass then whispered nearer to him. "I have you now."

John opened his eyes again to find Helen trying to smile against her tears. "I pushed you away for too long and I could never express how much that hurt me. As it did you. For that I can only say I am so very sorry."

"I understand why you had to Helen."

And he did. For nearly a hundred years they all had believed his madness was a mental instability in him but not anymore.

He had expressed his overwhelming sense of freedom for the hundred and thirteen years they had kept in touch but like most of their encounters, Helen had been someplace else; a distant shore within her mind. Now he understood and would not waste a moment trying to question her about her reasoning.

"Can I see her now," he asked timidly.

"Yes, but she has been exposed to the Lazarus virus. However, Nikola's cue has counteracted the effects. She had a fever because of it but it has digressed. She also has a bullet wound in her shoulder, facial lacerations and I've had to hang a bag of blood just to be on the safe side; nothing serious," she warned, "I didn't want to take any chances as her blood pressure was just borderline when I found her. She is drifting in and out of consciousness so she may be a bit groggy as I have given her a light sedative."

"What of the Cabal and what they've done to her?"

"Her Sanguine genes have returned to their dormant state like I said. I haven't a clue on what caused that. I was hoping you and Tesla, along with me could figure that out. My father gave me a tablet with her medical work up and I've been looking over everything since she came back. The Cabal has been dismantled for almost three years and their power over her has been extinguished thanks to you and Nikola. So there is no fear of any manipulation or control from their end."

John nodded another bow to her words.

"She just needs to be reassured that what has been done will never bare cause to hold her responsible. I know that is what she is fearing the most."

"How could she ever think we would blame her?"

"I know once she settles and gets more comfortable she will be able to handle her emotions better. For her it has only been hours, a day or so that she was standing there in the sublevel," Helen closed her eyes to shake her head slowly, "in her eyes she's just tried to kill everyone that was a part of her family. For us it has been almost three years."

"She is strong Helen," he spoke softly, "just like her mother. She will be alright, she has you."

John stood to his feet and offered a hand to Helen.

"Let us leave our worries for a moment."

"Of course, I'm sorry. The Big Guy has been with her so she wouldn't be alone."

"And she never will be again."

Helen stood and intertwined her arm into John's as they made their way to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>John slowly walked through the door of the infirmary to find his sleeping daughter hooked up to an array of monitoring machines. The beeps and blips brought back the seriousness of the situation but also its wonder and miracle of how Helen had made this happen.<p>

His daughter was alive and now he would have a chance at actually being a father to her.

Helen left his side to do her usual rounds of checking Ashley's vitals and reading over her charts. The Big Guy huffed and nodded to John then made his way out to go to Helen's study to meet up with Will and Henry.

John stood at the side of her bed, taking in her features closely. He eyed the sutures over the corner of her left eye, a few across her forehead, cheek and neck.

"What happened to her face?"

He sat gently on the bed placing his hand to her forearm that was secured in a blue colored sling. "You said she has been shot?"

"Yes," she sat down on the other side of Ashley's bed as she inspected the IV catheter in her arm. "She was shot clear through; entry and exit wound. However the lacerations are from Bhalasaam. "

"Bhalasaam," he frowned.

"My father believes the Cerellium from the Carentan device fused with her teleportation genes. As you know your genes carry a small electromagnetic current. It makes sense that the Hollow Earth element bonded itself to her's like a magnet. That is how she found herself in Bhalasaam during its fall. She's been teleporting through time."

"Dear God Helen."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," she sighed as she brushed back Ashley's hair around her ear.

"She's been able to teleport there and back to the year 2010, November to be exact. And her last jump was back home as I found her over an hour ago at the front gate. In Nov, 2010, that is where she was shot. Declan thought she was an intruder. It was the time where the Big Guy and I were trying to undercover a mole in our Network. But the trace elements of Cerellium have dissolved into her blood stream and are no longer bound to her genes. However; she will be a teleporter like you John," she said with a smile as she looked over to him.

"But the most profound is that the Source Blood has changed her as it did me. She also has longevity as a result."

John brought a hand to his face to rub away the numbness that had asserted itself. Not only did he just learn his daughter was alive, but that teleportation was permanent as was the gift of longevity.

Ashley's left arm moved from Helen's hold as her eyes slowly blinked open. Helen rubbed her arm lightly and Ashley tilted her head to the left and opened her drowsy eyes.

"Mom."

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Ashley smiled at her as she closed her weary eyes for a moment.

"Tired."

"I know sweetheart. After you rest awhile you shouldn't feel as exhausted. Your body is still recovering from the Lazarus Virus too remember?" Helen assured her with a squeeze of her hand.

"Yeah," Ashley muttered in reply.

"Ashley," Helen whispered as she leaned closer, "I have someone here to see you."

Ashley opened her eyes wider then slowly turned her head to the other side.

"Hi there," came the low rumbling voice of her father.

"Dad," she sighed.

"You mother has told me what she has done to bring you back to us." John was trying so hard to contain his composure and the tears gracing his eyes made it evident he couldn't.

Ashley had barely spoken a few sentences with her father in all of her 23 years. Well, almost 26 now. The most being after he kidnapped her as he explained their past and about the Five as he hoped to gain her trust to tell him where Helen was.

"Hi," she muttered as her eyes fluttered closed again, her head sinking back into the soft pillow.

"She will probably be like this for a couple hours," Helen said as she situated to sit more comfortably beside her daughter. "I gave her a light sedative, nothing too heavy as her body is still very vulnerable and weak. This way she can at least get some sleep."

"She is in very capable hands," John said as a tear befell his cheek. He reached out almost hesitantly and brushed a few stray stands of blonde hair from the left side of Ashley's face.

"She looks so much like you."

Helen felt the warmth of his words touch her soul. "Yes she does. Even our baby pictures are almost identical. Though I only have a few surviving of my own. It was so long ago but I can still remember her birth as clear as day, and her little face the moment I held her for the first time."

"It must have been so wonderful."

"Yes. It was. She filled a void in my life I didn't even know I had. I realized this when for the first time her blue eyes looked up at me as if she was trying to say something. A non-verbal expression letting me know my life was fulfilled now; for the both of us. Then after that, she smiled at me."

Ashley stirred and shifted unconsciously to face towards her mother. Helen continued to hold her hand in her's and just sat quietly watching her daughter sleep.

John watched Helen as she looked down at her sleeping daughter and for the first time he understood the bond that was shared between them. He only hoped to one day earn a glimpse of that with Ashley.

Now there would be time—time to mend the broken and heal the wounded.

The dim light of the infirmary shadowed three Immortals come full circle through centuries of anguish, loss, and hope—and most of all; that of love. In some ways it was an end of a journey that has brought them back together to only find one to begin again. Ingenuity of technology and will—and a little bit of luck promised Ashley another chance at living. Though Helen didn't believe in luck. She always believed luck was something you created by taking the risk for change.

In Helen's case it was a risk that affirmed her cause—Sanctuary for all—even for the one that had been lost in the fabric of time.


	20. Chapter 20

Author's note: Happy Holidays everyone! :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 20<p>

One hour before sunrise Helen found herself leaning against the side of Ashley's bed and half slumped in the chair she had fallen asleep in.

Henry and Will had visited hours earlier but it was Henry who had stayed for much longer experiencing every sentiment that Helen had felt the moment under the gated archway of her Sanctuary. He had been quiet in the long moments in the infirmary and was met with an embrace only a mother could give the second he walked out of the room.

Henry later joined Biggie and Will down in the basement as they had plans on bringing Ashley's belongings back up to her attic bedroom. Her room had been transformed into the Sanctuary gym but now things would be placed back where they belonged—and her Sanctuary brothers wouldn't have it any other way.

Ashley hadn't woken up once since John had visited together with Helen which left her content in seeing that her daughter was able to get some uninterrupted sleep.

The infirmary room was still dimly lit and void of any other presence other than mother and daughter. That is what Helen had wanted for the time being. Not to say she was selfish in any way but this is how it needed to be.

Ashley slowly woke to the subdued lighting of the room and found her mother's head resting on her arm.

Ashley felt more cognitive and less tired and really wanted to get out of her bed and take a walk around her home. Something she had wanted to do since finding herself in Praxis when she first awakened in her grandfather's home. Sitting in one place for too long was one thing Ashley Magnus reviled most.

_Praxis._

_Gregory._

Ashley felt sorrow for her mom as she watched her sleeping by her side. Helen had lost Gregory not long ago and though Ashley knew they did not spend as much years together; she knew how great he was as a person and as a grandfather. Even though she had only been a blink in his eye within the hands of time.

He was kind and caring, and above all, respectful. His demeanor carried an antiquated blend of chivalry and reserve—much how John seemed to have deep inside which was now at last allowed to present itself willingly and without suppression. Gregory had been old school polite and Ashley again found herself envying the father her mother once had.

And it pained her that now both of them would be living eternity without him.

Helen woke to a hand on her shoulder lightly shaking her awake.

"Mom," Ashley rasped in a whisper.

Helen sighed aloud as she lifted her head eyes immediately focusing to her daughter. "You're awake," she smiled through a sleepy blur of fatigue. She slowly sat up from her chair and took up a seat beside her keeping hold to her daughter's hand.

"What time is it?"

Helen glanced down at her watch, "just after 5am. You've been sleeping for a few hours straight."

Ashley yawned and shifted to sit up a little straighter. After she was situated Helen brushed back at the loose hair that had gathered over her ear. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. My head isn't spinning like it was earlier." Ashley grinned a half smile to comfort her mom that she indeed wasn't experiencing any side effects or lingering problems from the virus.

"That is what I was worried about," Helen said as her brow narrowed with concern. "I was so scared Nikola's Lazarus cure would fail to reverse the illness. I was afraid your body chemistry was going to reject the antidote and leave you sick without means to save you. We still don't know all of what the Cabal did…"

Ashley could physically see her mom shivering again as if she was cold. "Mom, it's alright, no need to worry about that anymore. I'm fine."

"I know. It's just… I've waited so long just to touch your face again, to see you smile; to hold you in my arms."

"I know that now," she murmured with a childlike innocence imbued with understanding.

Helen gave a soft squeeze to her shoulder and forced a deep breath in fighting against another crying fit, "here," she said as she took Ashley's arm into her hands, "how about we take a walk. I know you are aching to get out of here. Do you feel like you can handle that?"

"Ah, I think I can," she answered back hesitantly.

"Alright," Helen smiled cautiously and paused for a second to take in her daughter's expression. "Are you sure you feel up to it?"

Ashley gave her mom a nod. "Yes, this is the last place I want to be."

Helen agreed.

"Okay; first things first," Helen gently pulled out the end of the IV line from her arm catheter. Ashley watched as her mom slowly unhooked the fluid line as if her arm was a piece of fragile glass.

"It's okay mom," she whispered caringly, "I won't break."

Ashley had noticed Helen taking her time undoing the connection with trembling hands. Helen stopped to look at her daughter. Ashley's eyes were soft and full of empathy and Helen was having a hard time trying to make her heart believe Ashley was real and not a dream.

"I'm sorry," she sighed heavily. "I am still having a hard time keeping my emotions composed."

"Well then that makes the two of us."

Both sat for a long moment silencing their words leaving the room to hum again with the beeps and blips of the medical machines.

Helen had won. She had beaten the odds with the help of Nikola Tesla and it rejuvenated her soul with purpose knowing that in the end, she had the last say —_I saved my daughter._

Ashley kept her bruised but soft smile on her face as she leaned her head back into the pillow. It warmed Helen's heart every time she saw Ashley that way. Even though there was still much to confront; a simple smile evoked the promise of new life for the both of them.

Ashley glanced over at an empty chair behind Helen to find a stack of clothing. Helen followed her eyes and then pointed at the clothes.

"Oh, I brought some of your clothes out from storage."

"You kept my clothes," she asked quietly.

"I did. The boys are actually bringing up your bed and belongings back to your room as we speak; but for the time being I want you sleeping across from my bedroom. Just to keep you close." Ashley could hear the fragility in her voice and the protectiveness that immersed from her words. She continued to watch her mother as she stood up pulling free the empty IV bag from the hanging hook and releasing the line from the monitoring machine.

She walked over a few away and dropped the used contents in an empty trash bin. She sighed as she returned to her side unstrapping the blood pressure cuff from her arm. After she was done and laid the cuff to the medical cart Ashley reached out to her mom and took her hand as she intently observed her mother's gaze. Helen's blue eyes were beaming with life and Ashley couldn't recall ever seeing her mom so overwhelmed before. Her mother looked enervated, pale as she struggled with every ounce of heart to hold tight to the present moment unfolding before them—as if it would dissipate into thin air like the night her daughter left her.

Ashley could tell her mother was still lost in the whole moment of what she had done to bring her back to her.

"It's alright," Ashley assured her in a gentle voice, "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Ashley eyes burned with warm tears that leveled the edge of her eyes.

"I know sweetheart. It's just… God I've missed you. Losing you hurt me so much…it broke my world, into pieces." Helen leaned forward letting her emotions pour from her soul as she pulled her daughter without reserve back into her arms. Composure be damned.

"I've missed you too," Ashley cried.

"I just wish my father was here…"

The room again became tenuous within the truth found in Helen's hold. She was openly vulnerable to her feelings and still numb with disbelief and just wanted nothing but to stay close to Ashley not letting her out of her sight for a moment's time. She had been so overprotective since she was born and she feared it would only get worse now having her back into her life. Helen remembered it took her over a year to accept Ashley's proposition for her own motorcycle for her eighteenth birthday. So many nights she stayed awake until she heard the rumbling of her coming home. Now it would be just as hard to reign in her maternal instincts.

"I'm sorry he can't be here."

"Oh Ashley, I thought I was going to be able to save him too. I had recorded a visual and audio recording with the warning to get out of Praxis. My hopes were that you could relay that information. It was a Hail Mary of a plan that I thought could work as some sort of memory recall for you."

Helen wiped her face with her outer sleeve as she rested her chin on Ashley's shoulder.

"I got the idea after a solo expedition to Honduras two years ago. I encountered an elemental Abnormal that allowed me to see future events play out by literally experiencing them myself. The artifact I was searching for was a significant secret in the field of ancient archaeology. What I saw was the destruction of the world overrun by an infecting plague. But as I learned of the sequence of events, I had to rely on visual logs I had recorded on my computer. That was how I came up with the idea of sending you a message to get out of Praxis."

Ashley's memory exploded into white light as she remembered the city engulfing into a thunderous halo bubble of fire. How close she had been to keeping Gregory alive.

"It had only been a few minutes from when we parted ways that the explosion happened. God…," she groaned.

"I know baby. But he was there for you when I needed him to be. And for that, I am eternally grateful."

Helen pulled back slowly and reached over softly wiping away Ashley's tears from under her eyes. Her touch was tender and so careful not to disturb the bruising and suturing at the corners of her face. She was starting to think that every time she looked at her daughter it would be like this; the happiness and tangible miracle keeping her on the edge of a raw emotional breakdown.

"How about that walk," Helen encouraged lightheartedly in a whisper as a few tears fell from her eyes.

"Sounds like a plan," Ashley replied as she tried to calm her breathing.

"Your clothes," she pointed again, "and fresh towels are in the guest bedroom across the hall." Helen laughed warmly as she got up to help Ashley edge her feet over her bed. "I know you must be aching for the comfort of a long warm bath. Bhalasaam may not have been dark stinky tunnels but hence the welcoming bath nonetheless."

Ashley smiled as she reached for her clothes. It was nice to have a play of humor to offset the intensity of their situation. "Good recall mom. Actually, that was the night I met Will for the first time remember," she laughed low. "Seriously, he looked like such a nerd."

Helen laughed as she pushed the medical cart away from the bed. "But we learned to love him just the same didn't we."

"Yes we did."

Helen turned to face Ashley and placed her hands gently on her shoulders. "Now I will be right here looking over the information on the tablet my father sent with you. If you need anything, just call for me alright."

Ashley once again picked up on the crack in her mother's voice and the subtleness of its emotional break. "I will," she promised. Ashley hugged her mom once more, kissed her on the cheek and walked across the hall to the guest bedroom.

A half hour later Ashley returned to the infirmary wearing a favorite pair of her jeans and a black three quarter t-shirt. Helen looked up with smile and placed the tablet on the medical bed and made her way to the door.

"So I was thinking we could grab a bite to eat and take it to my study and fire up the fireplace."

Ashley's heart was still swimming in the sea of emotions as was her mother's but in that moment they both consciously decided to ignore the pining sting of what they have both endured and looked forward to the simple comfort of family and a warm meal.

"Are you hungry," Helen asked as she patted Ashley's back as they headed out of the infirmary.

"Much," she sighed.

"I shall make pancakes or eggs. Which are you up for?"

"Oh pancakes sounds awesome," Ashley begged.

"Pancakes it is," Helen let constant smile linger on her face as they turned the corner towards the elevator lift.

The lonely hallway of their home became alive again with what was once the beating heart of the Old City Sanctuary—mother and daughter.

* * *

><p>"Dude, the bed needs to be at least five inches to your left."<p>

The three men were caringly putting Ashley's bedroom back together—inch by inch and item to its former positions.

Henry was adamant on the placement of Ashley's bed as was her kickboxing equipment and had been giving orders and making sure Ashley's room was returned to its original blueprint. Biggie grunted as he pushed the bed frame towards Will.

"Whoa Big Guy. My shoes don't have steel toes," he joked as the corner leg of the frame clipped the edge of his tennis shoe.

"Then I would advise you to stand clear of the moving bed frame," Biggie huffed in a feral laugh.

There was an air of excitement between the three men as they thoughtfully placed Ashley's room back to together. All were still in a maze of shock but were animated in their attempts to have Ashley's bedroom back just the way she had left it.

"Okay, mission 'Ash's room' is complete." Henry reached down and nodded to the men to lift the mattress onto the boarded frame—one of the last of things to settle back in place.

"You seriously know exactly where everything was," asked Will as he bent down to lift the left corner of Ashley's mattress.

"Yep. Do you know how many years me and Ash spared in this room? How many times we broke the punching bags and had to clean up all that compacted sand. Too many to count man. And if something isn't just where is used to be; Ashley will be sure to tell us."

"Gotcha."

Biggie had been thinking for a welcoming gift since he and the boys started hauling up Ashley's belongings. He settled on a memory that was precious to both daughter and mother.

"I was planning on going to the greenhouse and getting Ashley some flowers."

"That's great Big Guy," Henry said as they laid the mattress on the boarded frame resting on the metal rim of the bed. "She'll like that."

Biggie saw Henry's eyes shadow with tears as he nodded to put the second mattress in place. "What kind do you think she'll like?"

"Ah," thought Henry as he felt his throat tightening a little. "Do you remember those flowers she would pick for Magnus on her birthdays when she was little. When Ashley was like four."

"Mmm, the large pink ones that looked like they had dog ears?"

Henry chuckled his man giggle, "Yeah dude; remember she used to call them her Pink Panther flowers?"

The Big Guy huffed a gentle roar of laughter at the old memory. "And they were nearly as tall as she was."

Will joined in the laughter as he tried to picture a little Ashley carrying the flowers to Helen.

"I remember Magnus never putting any other flowers in that vase too."

"Perfect choice boys," Will agreed as he sat down on the mattress.

"I'll go down to the greenhouse and look for those," said Biggie grunting as he began walking to the door.

Henry walked over to a linen basket and pulled some fresh sheets from the hamper. He tossed a folded fitted sheet at Will. "Hey can you finish making the bed? I want go get the flowers with the Big Guy."

"Yeah sure," Will said as he stood up and opened up the sheet and letting in fall out over the bed.

"Thanks man."

"No problem."

Will meticulously pulled the fitted sheet over the mattresses and was left to make the rest of the bed. Henry and the Big Guy made their way to the greenhouse in search of the flowers that were so special to a once four year old Ashley.

* * *

><p>Ashley placed the tray of plates on the small end table in front of Helen's couch as her mother placed a few logs into the fireplace. A few moments later a warm fire was blazing and warming the air near the fireside lighting the dimness of Helen's study.<p>

Ashley slumped into the sofa and closed her eyes for a minute, taking in the sound of the crackling and popping of the oak wood of the fire. So many nights she had fallen asleep on this very sofa whether in conversation with Helen or just to hang out while her mom stayed busy with patient files and computer data entry. This room was like a second home within her home.

Helen looked back at Ashley as she propped up the fire poker against the fireplace. She stopped for a second as she watched her daughter easing her head back into the cushion.

"You okay Ashley," she asked worriedly taking a seat beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The walk just winded me a bit."

Helen sighed to herself realizing she was still so guarded with her fears of anything going a miss with Ashley. She knew she had to try to calm her nerves at some point but honestly didn't know when she would allow herself to do so. Helen smiled turning back to pour maple syrup over their pancakes.

"How much syrup do you want on your pancakes?"

"Ah, saturate'em," Ashley answered as she leaned forward to grab her fork from the tray.

"One order of drenched maple pancakes coming right up."

Ashley took her plate and leaned back into the soft cushion of the couch slicing a fork full of pancake into her mouth. "Mmm," she mumbled as the warm food nearly melted into her mouth. Helen curled into her cushion and both mother and daughter took their fill of their sweet sugary hot breakfast.

Helen hadn't even finished half her pancakes by the time Ashley placed her empty plate back to the tray.

"You always were a ravenous eater. Even as a child."

"Yeah, you'd think Henry would be that way; having been raised in the woods and all."

Ashley's blunt but innocent remark almost caused Helen to nearly choke on her pancake morsel. Ashley flashed a smile as she sank back into the sofa.

Helen figured eating half her pancakes was good enough. Her stomach still felt a bit nauseous with the weight of Ashley's return so she placed her tray back to the table. Ashley sighed and leaned into her mom resting her head on her shoulder.

Helen placed her chin gently to the top of her head and wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"So Nikola helped you with your plan to save me," Ashley enquired softly.

If ever there was a time to delve in deeper to what they had experienced; the present moment seemed a testament as most of their mother and daughter conversations of life occurred right here in Helen's study. Helen took in a deep breath and returned her memories to the night she saw Tesla after waiting over a hundred years holding onto a single thread of hope.

"Yes he did. I used the river entrance to get into the Sanctuary that evening; the night you teleported."

Ashley stayed quiet as her cognitive thought process played out that last memory that was blanketed like oil to her heart.

"I called him to meet me down in my wine cellar. He was so willing to help me and honestly Ashley, it did surprise me. I had underestimated his loyalty as a friend to me."

"And what did you do after he agreed to help you?"

"I swam back through the river entrance and out into Old City River. I had a truck parked at an abandoned dock a few miles away and then drove back to where I had been living for the last 40 years of my seclusion. It took me a few hours to finally get back to my home and for every second my thoughts were of you."

"How did you do it? How did you keep going?"

Helen leaned her head back and looked down as she brushed back Ashley's hair; still wanting to feel the tangible life before her. "I didn't have a choice. Believing you would return to me was the only way I could keep my wits about me."

Helen heard Ashley take in a shaky breath. "I can't imagine… how that was for you."

"113 years felt like an eternity in itself. Losing you Ashley…"

Helen paused as the sound of the room reverted back to the crackling logs in the fireplace. Ashley closed her eyes to the comforting resonance.

"Dana Whitcomb," she nearly spat the name, "had given me an ultimatum to relinquish control of my Sanctuary Network for your return. Of course she would not have kept her word so I was in fear of losing everything close to me. The only thing we could do was prepare for the worst and do our best to defend ourselves from the onslaught of the Cabal's attack," she paused for a moment.

"So that was what we did."

Helen felt Ashley take in another deep breath as she fidgeted with the strap of her blue arm sling.

"I could hear your voice calling my name the first time I saw you… at that warehouse," she whispered.

Helen squeezed her shoulder as she tried to sooth away the unnerving stress of the trembling of her daughter's body.

"It was like you were calling me from a distance, like an echo far away. But I _did_ hear you."

"I was with John, Nikola and Will. I was so mad at John for teleporting me away from you. I thought I could get through to you somehow."

"Glad he did," she said pitching her voice, her dictation carrying a gradual angry tone, "I still heard your voice," she muttered shutting her eyes, "calling my name but every time I recognized it; the feeling faded and then I couldn't remember any more about what was going on. One minute I saw you standing next to Will—then another I was at the UK Sanctuary seeing John with a fighting blade—then…"

Helen noticed Ashley's hand clenching tightly in a fist around her shoulder strap. Helen reached with her right hand to softly hold her by the wrist. Ashley then turned her head inwards burying her forehead into her mother's shoulder.

"It's alright Ashley, I know… I know."

Ashley's memories flooded back and she saw everything. The bloody wound on her mother's arm; her face pleading for her to stop and remember who she was…

"_Ashley I'm afraid..."_

Ashley quietly cried to herself wishing that none of this had ever happened.

"None of this is your fault," Helen whispered to her, "It's all over sweetheart. It's all over."

A wood layer from a burning log cracked wildly sending a few burning embers out from the fireplace. The cracking sound and sparkled light from the embers startled Ashley as she shuddered against Helen's hold.

Ashley jolted forward out of her mother's arms and pawed her hands in front of her as she stumbled away from the sofa.

"Ashley," Helen called out frantically as she rushed towards her with open arms.

A red flare flashed in the shadowed room of Helen's study as Ashley disappeared in a blinding blur of crimson luminosity.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Helen sprinted over to her computer desk nearly slamming into the small table as her knees almost gave out from beneath her.

She anxiously typed away at a few buttons on her keyboard bringing up a rotating loop of all security camera feeds. Her eyes searched for any movement down the hallways, corridors, and basement corners of her home.

Helen intently analyzed the lone hallways on the first floor of the East Wing as every few seconds another corridor's view switched in scene.

* * *

><p>The shaded darkness of sublevel of the Sanctuary sparked with a fiery flare of red light.<p>

Ashley dropped a few feet from midair landing hard on her buckling knees; her hands left to balance her weight on its cold stone surface.

Overhead a subtle hazy glow encompassed the subterranean level like moonlight from the dull morning bleeding through the glass dome high above.

Ashley bit down painfully drawing blood from her lip as she crumpled to the floor in an uncontrolled panic from her once last memory. "Damn it…" she seethed fighting to level out her labored breaths grabbing her sides as she rolled over on her back. Her blue teary eyes widened following the circled dome that led above to the ghostly obscure of the dawn from behind white snow clouds.

The sublevel echoed quietly with the oddities of animal chirps, howls, and barks of the many nocturnal Abnormals still awake in their habitants.

The wild Abnormal calls were familiar and Ashley could recall every species and even the pet names she had given each— even as she struggled to calm her anxieties lying prone against the stone surface.

Squinting her eyes Ashley rolled over onto her side and stared across the dusky circumference. Every tinted glass enclosure stood tall and gloomy in the shadowed light. The soft echoes from each habitat actually seemed to comfort her in a way. For she had captured at least half of them since she was allowed to join her mom on world traveled excursions as her side kick in arms.

And every one captured gave a look into its wonders that she would never forget.

Her back faced Sally's aquarium as her eyes continued to dance along the edges and corners of the large open room. She tried to concentrate her thoughts by letting her eyes follow the rimmed boundaries of each square glass habitat. The glass was dark and blanketed with a gloomy glare that barely reflected in the low light. Each square leaden stone was nearly identical in size from wall to floor. Her eyes followed up to the second level of the sublevel. She remembered when she was ten how she and Henry would repel from the black guard rails pretending their declines were repelling them from the side of a distant mountain.

She also remembered how Helen would always reprimand them for their dangerous escapades. But Helen knew Ashley was just a mini Magnus and it was just the beginnings of a life that she would engage in at full throttle. It was an Indiana Jones way of life for the magical world that they were a part of. And during these times when Ashley and Henry were young; the wonders of the Abnormal world found competition that rivaled their own visionary and yet resourceful imaginations.

Ashley could feel her body staring to relax along with the amount of air she was able to breathe back into her body. The cold stone pressed to her cheek felt refreshing as she tried to settle her breaths and calm her nerves from the waking memory that had sent her materializing in a fiery flash.

Unknowingly Sally had swum to her glass window and watched helplessly as her friend was struggling with her distress. If ever there was a time she wished she had legs, this was it. She peered through the liquid stratum at the one person she hadn't seen in nearly three years.

_Ashley._

Her friend.

Ashley's emotions were being read like an open book to Sally as the pain and fear reverberated like waves around her. But Ashley's thoughts were her own as Sally could not read minds as exchanged verbal communication was only capable through touching of solid objects or hand to hand.

Sally placed her palm to the clear glass instinctually although there was no one on the other side to receive her message.

_All will be okay._

It was a simple telepathic message and like Helen; she believed that it held the deepest truth now since she had returned home.

A flood of anger suddenly seeped into Ashley's heart as she pictured Dana's face, absent of emotion, and the lunatic smile from that red haired Cabal scientist. She angled her forehead into the cold stone and groaned her rage at not being able to fight back because that was what she was—a fighter, trained to handle the world in which she followed footstep by footstep beside her mother.

Ashley pushed herself upright to her feet unbalanced but steady enough to stumble her way in the direction of the far corridor. She hadn't even noticed Sally in the low light pouring in from above as she floated against the glass.

Keeping her arm cradled tight around her side she entered the darkness of the wide passageway towards the tall stairwell.

Loud bangs against glass caught her attention.

Tilting her head up she saw a dim glow of light illuminating a small area of the corridor from a side habitat about 20 feet from her. As she cautiously walked closer she saw Will pounding on the glass in a black winter jacket.

When he saw that she noticed him he bent over resting his hands on his knees, probably sighing with relief she thought, then leaned back up into the glass waving his arms about.

"Ashley… thank god," were the words muffled from behind the glass enclosure.

Ashley could see his pale face even in the low blue light of the Abnormal's habitat—a habitat that was unrecognized to her.

His expression relaxed as he patted the cold glass with his bare palm. "There was some electrical glitch and the door shut behind me!" She could tell his teeth were chattering from the lack of warmth.

Ashley slowly leaned into the glass wall for balance as she locked eyes with Will. She squinted hard against the spinning of her head, "What?"

"I was checking the environmental systems in the habitat. A power surge caused the door to close behind me. I got trapped in here."

Ashley could see the white fog leave his mouth with every exhale of breath he took. She even noticed the cold tingeing like frost on the edges of the glass wall.

Will pointed to the security passcode machine lining the entry door. "534!"

Ashley nodded and walked to the machine punching in the numbers with her left hand.

A swift beeping sound alerted as the machine accepted the correct code.

Will jumped out of the doorway rubbing his bare hands against his jawlines stepping to stand next to Ashley. "Damn it's cold in there," he fussed in a shudder of breaths.

Ashley patted him on the shoulder. "You okay? How long have you been in there?"

"Jeez," he groaned rubbing his hands together. "About 20 minutes. Henry was going to meet me down here but he had to take care of something last minute."

Will shoved his hands into his black fleece downed jacket and jumped in place a few times, smiling warmly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ashley replied in complete surprise of the coincidence of her timing.

Ashley studied his face with the three year changes that had passed between them.

Subtle but slight enough she could tell his face had stronger features than she remembered. She smiled watching his sharp blue eyes glint as he returned a smile back as he opened his arms reaching to hug her.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. Ashley was embraced tightly by him and that of the puffy black jacket.

"Welcome home Ashley."

"What a story huh."

"Your mom did nothing short of a miracle," he said pulling back letting a concerned look befall his face.

"So, how are you feeling? Odd place to ask you this I know."

"Ah," she said shyly glancing away from him as she answered, "sort of teleported down here in a panic; I was talking with my mom in her study. Something she said flashed a memory and next thing I know I was down here."

Will raised his eyebrows caringly. "Emotional triggers. I explained to Magnus that memory recall might have some kind of post traumatic effect on you," his voice was soft and aided with a gentle smile." He stepped forward slowly to place a hand on her left shoulder. "Looks like it may be connected to your gift."

"So, the teleporting thing could be triggered every time I have a random flashback." she asked pulling tight to the white strap that had loosened on her shoulder sling.

Ashley was a bit confused. Helen hadn't mentioned that part to her.

"It was just a theory," he added.

Will squeezed her shoulder lightly then took a step back bouncing a couple more times then nodded over in the direction of the center sublevel. "Wanna get outta of here?"

"Mmm," she agreed; after all, the sublevel was still a crippling reminder that still cut deep to the wound still on her heart.

"My mom must be scared half out of her mind right now," she voiced low as she raised her head to stare down the dark corridor leading into the dark center of the sublevel.

* * *

><p>Helen's computer screen flashed to the shadowy subterranean level's center foyer. Helen's eyes narrowed as she strained at the two figures walking through the security feed.<p>

Her heart nearly fell out of her chest with a sickening wave of nausea.

"Bloody Christ," she yelled as she opened a side drawer to her 9mm. She pulled out the black weapon releasing the magazine making sure it was fully loaded then slammed the mag back in place.

Grabbing her walkie from her desk she announced her panic as she watched her daughter walking alongside a tall thin green scaled Abnormal.

"This is Magnus; we have a security breach in the Kush habitat. The creature is with Ashley in the sublevel. I'm heading there now!"

A gurgle of static spit back from her walkie. "Doc, it's Henry, I'll meet you at the Sub Elevator. East Wing…"

"Understood."

Will and Henry had set up a temporary habitat in the sublevel until a larger environment could be created in the SHU. A decision Helen regretted instantly—but then again, it was a decision made when Ashley was still just a lingering memory in her heart.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Helen knew Henry would get there as fast as he could, but if he wasn't there by the time she was, she wouldn't wait. She would take on the creature by herself.

* * *

><p>Sally watched as Will and Ashley walked clear into the wide circumference of the darkened foyer. She pleaded with pounding hands against her glass enclosure but no one heard or even noticed the thudding reverberating from her efforts. She sensed the sinister mind and the violent tendencies from something near. The sensations were burning around her like a threatening fire.<p>

"You know Magnus has barely left your side since you've been back."

"I know," she said in a sigh.

For a few more moments neither of them spoke as they walked through the threshold of the corridor's epicenter.

Will slowly shuffled to a stop standing directly center in the foyer and glanced up to the glass dome above them. "Is it still snowing outside?"

"Ah, I think so," Ashley answered. "It was a few minutes ago."

"I think I'll take a walk outside. Care to join me?"

"Will," she joked lightly, "it's like two degrees outside."

"Yeah," he lowered his head to look back at her as a goofy little grin lined his lips, "Just for a few minutes what do you say?"

"I can't Will," she flashed an easy smile, "I need to get back to my mom. She's probably freaking out right now."

"At least walk me to the door?"

Ashley pondered the thought for a minute. He was insistent but maybe he just wanted her company for a short while.

Her train of thought was broken as heavy iron casted doors creaked open with a loud clash of sliding metal. Helen immediately saw two figures distanced down the wide dark corridor side by side.

Will peered down the long passageway as the sound pinged against the stone walls around them.

Helen shifted her gun to bridal on the back of her belt loop against her waist—her attempt to hide the only source of backup she had.

She quickened her pace towards them keeping her arms down at her side. With clenched teeth and a squared jaw she tracked them, eyes focusing on the two shadowy figures swallowed by the hazy darkness.

Ashley smiled with relief and slowly walked in her direction. "Mom, it's alright I'm okay…" she called out.

"Mom, what the hell is going on?"

Ashley froze to the blood curling sound of her own voice calling out a few feet behind her. She turned on her heel to face, herself.

Blue eyes and blonde hair wearing her three-quarter black sleeve shirt and dark jeans; black boots and a blue arm sling stared back at her.

Helen reached behind pulling the 9mm free, raising it—reluctantly into the air.

"Ashley?" She yelled out loud staring down the length of the corridor watching as each identical Ashley faced each other in the hazy darkness.

"Ashley_, listen to me_," she picked up her pace into a run, arms leveling her weapon on the spaces between them. "The other _you_ is the Magoi Abnormal; the very species that we tried to capture on our way to New Delhi three years ago. I need for you to step away from both me and the other, you. Do it now!"

Both Ashleys stepped back in a defensive stance quickly finding themselves keeping their eyes locked to each other in the process.

Helen halted when she was about 15 feet from both of them. Her dark blue eyes darted back at each instantly noticing a small amount of blood trickling down left Ashley's lip, "I don't know what game you are trying to pull but you will not find yourself free beyond this point. I assure you."

The Ashley to her left casted her blue eyes nervously as she looked over to her.

Helen raised her eyes to both of them not knowing which one was her real daughter. So she quickly gave a short explanation about their situation to advise her daughter. "We just came back from a mission in the Bering Sea and found their species frozen in an embryonic state. We decided to bring them back here. Will and Henry set up a temporary enclosure for them down here."

Both Ashleys again returned their eyes to each other in silence. Helen kept her gun hovering and eyes at a constant glaring between them.

"One of you start talking," she ordered half out of breath still making her weapon a threat to them, "then the other will have a chance to speak."

"I needed to punch in the code to let Will out. He said he was locked in the habitat," said the Ashley to her right.

Left Ashley unstrapped her sling, groaning painfully as she tossed the blue arm rest down to the stone floor. "Seriously," she shouted out impatiently angered to her core as she carefully lowered her right arm to her side. "Time travel and now another me. Hell no, you will return to your arctic cell if I have to drag you back in there myself. And now your lip is bleeding like mine—how clever." She was furious and Helen watched as a red tint flushed her pale cheeks.

Helen had to admit that reaction was spot on for Ashley's spunky self.

Or a perfect representation of it.

"I was just about to say the same thing," the other Ashley countered weakly. Helen watched as she pinched the bridge of her nose as she swayed backwards a step. Her mother instinct kicked in and she couldn't help but call out her daughter's name.

"Ashley?"

"Crap," she groaned while Helen watched as she blinked a few times trying to focus on the floor in front of her. "That teleport took a lot out of me." After a moment of focusing her vision to Helen she reached across her chest and pulled free her arm from her blue sling. "I may not be in fighting form but I will defend myself and my mom." She glared back at the Ashley observing her with rude caution.

"Oh that's just sick," came Ashley's nauseated reply. "Preying on the teleporting and how I would risk my life to save my family." Her tone was loud and defiant and was spoken with a thread of promise that she would defend at all costs.

Helen had watched every movement the Ashleys made; facial tics, brow furrows, and the tone of their voices. Their body language was exactly how Helen had witnessed for 23 years. And she still couldn't discern one from the other.

The Ashley on her right backed a step causing Helen to aim her weapon at her. "Don't anybody move." Helen was adamant. She knew firsthand how violent their species were and what they were capable of. She would take no chances.

Especially now.

"Mom, it's me. I was just in the study with you…how can I prove that I am who I say I am," the right one interjected.

"You can't." Helen tried her best to study them both in the dark light. The above glass dome only allowed a small amount of light to cascade down for the dawning sky was heavily clouded. She could clearly make out their eyes and faces but it wasn't enough in the shadowy light. She clenched tighter to her hand gun. "I am sorry but I need both of you to start walking back to the habitat area you just came from."

"Mom," she continued, "there has to be another way to prove who I am."

"You're a creature trying to imitate me so you can manipulate your way to the surface. It's that simple."

Helen turned to her left to the last response. "Yes, that is the outcome I would like to avert."

"Ashley," she said addressing them both in glances, "These are a violent species as you know. Until we prove containment we need to pay close attention to the small things. These minuscule observations to our environment will alert us of the veil of deceit."

"Peachy," both Ashleys said in unison.

"Or if I can teleport, that will prove it is me," the right Ashley stated.

"Mom, can they make you believe you would see something like that?" Left Ashley's voice trembled with uncertainty and the tone sent an icy shiver down Helen's spine. Ashley had been carrying that same soft shaky voice since she returned home.

Home.

And now this?

"It may be a possibility," she acknowledged warily.

A red flash erupted to Helen's right flickering a scarlet glow that dissipated then sparked again returning Ashley to the same spot from before.

A gasped exhaled to Helen's left. "Nice magic trick. Okay that proves it right there. I can't control my teleporting. There's no way I could do that. " Her edgy but confident words echoed continuously for a few seconds in the dark sublevel. Her tone was heavier and agitated; so much like her daughter when her back was against the wall per se.

"Okay, I have no idea how I just did that…" she whined stumbling a few feet backwards. Her voice seemed as surprised as the other's reaction to it.

Helen took a step back and eyed the Ashley to her left waiting for a response as she glanced over at her.

"Mom, don't believe it! I don't know how it just did that but I won't have it hurt you."

It took less than two seconds for left side Ashley to spring forward into a run taking the fight to the other. Helen caught a whirlwind of a body spinning out a round house kick connecting hard into the left jaw as the other Ashley was too late to raise her arms in defense. An inhuman hiss curdled through the air that Helen could not identify to which person had actually made the sound.

"NO!" She cried both in fear that Ashley was too gun hoe in making her attack and for the one taking the hit. She still couldn't make out her own daughter.

The swift kick unplanted her already unsteady feet from the ground and hurled her backwards onto her back. As the other settled in a defensive stance over the fallen one she yelled back towards Helen but didn't take her eyes off her double. "I know you can't trust either of us so you will have to get both of us into containment. I will go willingly but I will not let this thing near you!"

It was a plan. A good one. A logical one.

But Helen knew how manipulating the creatures could be. Her patience was wearing thin—patience she swore she had all but nearly lost having lived through five lifetimes.

"Ashley, whichever one you _are_," she glared at both of them her eyes tracing every facial feature. "Back away again. Do it now!"

She knew this wouldn't reveal her Ashley but at least it was an attempt to get them apart from each other. Both were trying to prove they were her daughter, so both would most likely listen to her, for now.

The Ashley sprawled out on the floor awkwardly pushed herself up with her good arm as the other stepped a few feet away from her—a look of total disgust lacing her expression.

"Oh yeah, don't forget to act like you've been shot. Congrats, you win the Emmy."

Left Ashley still poised herself ready to spring as she kept a subtle bobble on her heels.

Helen was studying each behavior pattern as quickly and objectively as she could. The left Ashley was exhibiting more agitation and logic with the signature Magnus charm she had been born with. A quick temper that had trouble keeping stagnant.

The one to her right was a bit more subtle with less intensity—the same way _her_ Ashley had been acting since she found her.

"Bloody Hell… I don't need this right now," she growled desperately. It was almost a cry.

Both Ashley's glanced over to Helen and both expressions mirrored in identical worried stares.

Helen pulled her walkie from her pocket and radioed Henry. "Henry where are you?"

"I'll be there in a few seconds. I'm at the base of the sublevel elevator."

"Copy that." Helen returned her walkie to her back pocket.

"Alright. When Henry gets here we will separately confine the both of you."

"Who's to say that Henry isn't one of them too," relayed right side Ashley.

She was right?

It was right?

"Dear god," Helen sighed to herself. She knew the whole litter could have been let loose with means of imitating every member of the Sanctuary team.

Her train of thought lapsed as loud footfalls sounded on old stone behind her.

"Doc!"

Helen side stepped to her left to circle around the two Ashleys so her back would end facing Sally's enclosure. Then she started to walk backwards towards the Mermaid's glass wall. "Henry, stay at least 20 feet from both of them," she instructed as she slowly walked back.

"You got it Magnus," he said keeping his silver stun gun pointed to the doubles.

"Henry," called out the left Ashley, "I know I can't prove it's me," she let her eyes fall back to her double as she pointed a finger to her, "and you, _you_ will not harm my family. My mom didn't spend a hundred years to lose me or anyone else now!"

"Ash, we'll make this right."

"Yes we will," announced the right Ashley. "You're good I have to give you that. Trying to get Henry's attention first; playing on my mom's plan to save me."

"SHUT UP! You don't know my family. You can pretend to look like me—sound like me— or even think like me. But you're NOT ME! I've dealt with Abnormals my whole life and you will be bagged back into your habitat. I promise you this. You should only be so lucky my mom gave you Sanctuary."

"Of course you would say that. That's the heart of what my family does."

It worried Helen that the right Ashley was still a bit guarded; almost submissive. Ashley was still trying to recover physically from the virus and that would make her vulnerable to physical exertion. Strange she thought how two separate personas were unraveling before her.

But anger can be used to motivate through the rush of adrenaline which would give reason to left Ashley's behavior. She was still fragile to the emotional effects from the Cabal's violations done to her.

She had to admit—the Magoi were sickening impressive with their method of survival in foreign environments unknown to them.

The two Ashleys' voices flooded the whole of the foyer reverberating loudly keeping Helen's heart feeling like it was about to jump from her chest.

Sally was still stationary at her window with a hand pressed firmly to the cold glass. Waiting patiently for Helen to make contact.

"If either of them moves— stun them both. We can't chance it," yelled Helen. Although she was well aware that multiple stuns might not even impact the creature. "And I will give _you_ fair warning," she let her eyes settle on each Ashley as they both turned to look at her. "If any harm comes to my daughter… so help me."

"Don't worry Doc. They aren't going anywhere."

Helen nearly stumbled as her back connected to the large glass window. Without taking her eyes off the trio centered in the foyer, she raised her left hand placing it to the surface of the enclosure.

Sally's words floated instantly into her mind.

_I watched as Will changed into the other Ashley. He was on the left from my vantage point._

_Understood._

Helen stepped away from the glass then stopped as she came to another conclusion.

Sally may not be Sally.

It the Magoi can make you believe in hallucinations including cage doors being locked, who's to say they couldn't imitate an entire person from an allusion.

But Helen had believed she may have had the advantage seeing the video feed with Will walking on the right side of the screen—left to Ashley's side.

Helen started to make her way back closer to them keeping her 9mm leveled in her shaking hands.

Henry shifted his weight and took aim to his left unleashing an array of stun fire taking down one of the Ashleys in a heap of blue piecing light. Ashley faltered to the floor on her side as Henry eyed the gun clicking on the side barrel then he aimed the gun towards Magnus. "We know what you did to our brethren. This is your only warning. End all of your attempts to keep us as your captives, or we will kill you."

Henry began walking backwards as the other Ashley followed him back into the dark corridor towards the elevator.

Blue fire erupted from his weapon again blasting through Sally's glass enclosure shattering the wall into a sea of exploding shards. As the pressure of the water's weight released into the foyer it launched a flooding tidal wave taking Helen out by her feet in its watery wake.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The subterranean foyer became a thundering echo of crashing water ricocheting off the façade of hundred year old walls.

Cold icy water spilled its weighted mass from the enclosure's now glassless frame.

The erupting wall of water tossed Helen into an awkward summersault as the water's power rebounded her along the surface of the floor. She could feel her legs and shoulders impacting hard against stone as small burning pricks of pain raked into her arms. The broken pieces of glass had become shrapnel in the underwater whirlwind she found herself spinning in. She couldn't tell if she was upside down, sideways, or upright as the unleashing current pushed her further into the foyer of the main lab.

She realized instantly that she had lost the grip to her gun as she coughed cold water from her gagging throat.

Sound was all but muted under the water's hold. She could hear the rumbling of the water still pouring from the habitat—it sounded like faint echoes of a waterfall rushing all around her as she reached outward with her hands to protect her body from the spiraling collisions against the floor. Again she spun erratically this time colliding with the floor's surface only to clip her forehead into the old stone.

And it hurt.

And that was the last thing she remembered.

Ashley fluttered her eyes open to find herself resting against one of the tall tinted glass enclosures of the foyer.

The spill of the water had pushed her clear from the spot in which she had fallen.

She blinked awake to consciousness realizing her arms were tucked in under her body as she lay on her stomach. Her senses quickly returned giving her awareness of her soaked clothing and cold water creeping into the small grooves of the stone. The dim light was just clear enough to see small details around her as she tilted her head up to take in her surroundings. Immediately she saw blackness in Sally's enclosure—no pale blue light that had been slightly illuminating into the foyer as before. As she studied the distances between she saw that there was no water in her aquarium.

The pit of her stomach knotted as she searched the stone surface for the Mermaid and that of her mother. Through the dark haze Ashley pushed herself up with her good arm in a crouching position and scanned the empty room. Abnormals calls continued to fill the air but other than the faint chirps, it was deathly quiet.

The last thing she remembered was Henry pointing his gun at her.

"Crap…" came the annoyed echo in the darkness.

"MOM! SALLY?" Ashley called out in a scared yell. She squinted her eyes and took a step forward but stopped before she stepped out from the circumference wall that opened into the long passageway. Her autonomic training kicked it reminding her she could become a target if she walked out into the open—exposing herself to the open corridor without knowing if it was occupied.

She quickly jumped to her feet and walked over to stalk against the wall, shuffling to its corner. Keeping her back against the partition she peered down the dark length of the corridor. She saw that the elevator was open and its inner light shined from its ceiling. It gave off just enough light for her to see no one was in the elevator or standing in the wide corridor.

Ashley turned back towards the empty foyer and walked carefully forward. She felt the adrenaline surging through her tired but anxious body but made no hesitation as she searched the room for her mother and Sally.

It didn't take long for her to find a prone figure lying off to her right about 30 feet from her. "Oh god…" she cried aloud as she began running across the wet stone over to her location.

_Oh god…_

The loud words and slapping footfalls against wet stone lingered across Helen's ears as she opened her eyes to the hazy light. The voice she knew belonged to her daughter. A blur of a shadowy figure knelt down beside her as she attempted to lift her head. "Mom, it's me, Ashley," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

Hands fell to Helen's shoulders giving her a gentle squeeze. Helen coughed as she tried to sit up then found herself spitting excess water from her mouth. "Ashley…you alright?" she groaned in a hopeful whisper.

"Yeah I'm okay. What the hell happened?" Ashley crouched down to her knees as Helen grabbed at her left forearm to help steady herself to sit upright. Helen almost fell slack into Ashley's hands as she pushed her mom back a bit. "Whoa, take it easy."

She grumbled a groan as she reached a hand to her forehead. "The Magoi posing as Henry shot through Sally's enclosure. Broke the glass; think I hit my head."

"Yep, you're bleeding. Come on," Ashley pulled at her wrists, "let's get you patched up. We got to go find those things before they hurt anyone else."

"Here, lean on me," Ashley said as she slid an arm around her waist, "do you think you can walk?"

"Yes," Helen answered hesitantly, "but first we need, to find Sally," she said squinting to scan the open foyer.

"I don't see her—"

A crimson flash of a teleport announced John Druitt. Both Helen and Ashley screamed their surprise as they startled. "Are you both alright," came the quick caring rumbled enquiry from his voice as he bent down placing a hand to each of their shoulders.

"John," gasped Helen. "We have a containment breach."

"Yes, an alarm sounded while I was my guest room. Shortly afterwards your manservant arrived at my door and brought me to Henry's tech room. After we viewed the camera feeds we found you all unconscious in the subterranean foyer. Seconds later we lost the feed. That was just a few moments ago. I just teleported your Mermaid into the second level up there," he nodded his head up to the second floor of the sublevel. "She communicated there was a secondary aquarium."

"Thank you," she garbled a cough spitting up small amounts of water again. John rubbed her back as she leaned forward into him.

John had been scared out of his wits when he first saw them lying motionless on the level's surface. Knowing the delicate recent situation Helen found herself in she had ordered the EM Shield stay lowered for both his and Ashley's sake. A decision John was currently grateful for.

Ashley eyed him intently ready to pounce on him like a wild animal for she wasn't so sure she could trust him—after all she had just seen her double visually teleport in place within their phantom illusions. Their manipulations of hallucinations were very powerful, just as Helen had told her from the crashed mission in the Hindu Kush area almost four years ago.

"We need to get to a computer to search for the Abnormals," rasped Helen as she lowered her head gingerly in her right hand.

A bright red flashed engulfed the family and teleported them over to Henry's side tech lab 100 feet away. The travel took less than a second, a mere blink of the eye but as Ashley watched Druitt help them both to stand, her nerves calmed knowing this was indeed, _their_ John.

Helen stared back into John's blue eyes giving him a shocked but reassuring smile as she too found relief in proof of his real identity.

"Oh thank god, I wasn't so sure it was you."

John nodded as she held her gently by the waist as Helen laid a hand to his upper arm to steady herself as she stood. "I know, I had to prove so as the Big Guy said it was the only way to assure you both of who I am," he paused as his eyes rose to the wound, "you are injured, and your arms."

Small minuscule tears etched themselves along Helen three-quarter sleeves, as well as surface skin abrasions from the cuts of glass.

"Yeah mom, you have a nasty cut along your forehead." Ashley added nervously as worried eyes widened in the brighter light of Henry's lab.

Helen raised her hand to find a trickle of warm blood trailing down the side of her face. "It's just a cut about an inch wide. The cut is already starting to slow the bleeding," said John as he caringly brushed away at her bangs. Helen watched his blue eyes analyzing the hairline wound then she eyes quickly darted back to Ashley, obviously still concerned that she had been stunned in her fragile state.

"How are you doing? You did take a couple stuns."

"Ah, I've been through worse. I'm all good."

Typical Ashley she thought. Always down playing her pain just so she could move on to more dangerous obstacles. Ashley Magnus was born an adrenaline junkie and Helen had never once doubted her daughter's passion for the sport—of the hunt.

"Now, we need to get you a bandage—" said Ashley as she dematerialized in a teleporting whirlwind of scarlet.

"Ashley," Helen called out as her daughter disappeared from their sight.

A red flash erupted into the small side infirmary just down the passageway. Ashley blinked hard finding herself standing in front of the medical cabinets of the small open room. When she immediately realized where she was she ran out into the dark corridor. "Mom, I'm down here."

Helen felt her heart jump at Ashley's voice as it echoed from outside Henry's lab. Druitt guided her into the passageway to see Ashley standing just outside the small lighted room.

"I'll get the first aid kit—and I'm okay…" she yelled back knowing exactly what Helen's next question would entail. When she heard an 'alright' she turned back into the medical room.

"She teleported—how…impressive," muttered John.

John had always wondered if he and Helen's children, his once hopes for children, would inherit his abilities. Seeing his daughter he barely knew, whirl into the creases within the spectrums of matter, made him proudly smile. For their relationship was new, with at least one sure thing in common between the both of them.

"Yes, I just worry about the instabilities of it," chimed Helen. She patted John on the shoulder then turned back into the tech corner trying her best of efforts to keep a keen eye on their situation at hand.

"It's a practice of sorts I do say," he replied still wearing a smile to his features, "but let us focus on securing your home safely."

Helen sighed and walked to the computer desk tapping the computer's keyboard. With a few clicks she spoke aloud, her authority as head of the Sanctuary Network lacing her voice. "I put a security lock down on the Sanctuary. This should keep them from escaping if they haven't already outside of the grounds. But the camera feeds are down. They must have somehow taken them offline. Alright," she paused shifting her view from the screen to John's face, "so we have a blind maze and an unknown number of shape shifters walking around my Sanctuary. Bloody Hell."

"We'll find them Helen. I can teleport remember. All we have to do is locate them and I will bring them back into containment."

"That may well be plan A. We need to find Henry so we can get a visual on the Sanctuary and… where is the Big Guy?"

"He locked himself in Henry's main lab."

"Good. He should be safe there. Now, let's get to Ashley."

Helen and John walked out into the low light and made their way down the corridor. The Magoi habitat still illuminated a dim blue glow into the passageway and both John and Helen stopped at its large glass wall as they glanced in as they passed. "Helen, are you seeing what I am?" Both of them stared into the large lengthy habitat to see Will and Henry unconscious on the cold surface.

"Ashley," called out Helen as she began running towards the small side infirmary. Helen nearly collided with her daughter as she turned the corner to enter the room. "I need syringes," she instructed. "John, I need you to teleport to the kitchen—I need salt."

"Salt?"

"Yes, now, go!"

In a flash he was gone.

Helen hurried to the counter and pulled free a drawer grabbing a handful of large syringes and twisting the tops off to remove the needles. "Here Ash, fill these with water."

"You got it," she complied as she grabbed a handful from the counter and ran over to the sink turning on the water. "Why am I doing this," she questioned in total confusion.

"Salt water kills the Magoi. John and I saw Henry and Will in their habitat just now, unconscious. I don't know if it's them or not so I am going to douse them with the solution. That way we'll know for sure. These are a very violent species and right now it's our only option."

"Easy peasy. Good plan mom. Just like old times huh."

Helen turned to find a smiling and bruised face looking back at her. And it was her blue eyes that were beaming with light. Her daughter was in mission mode. Clearly. And there was that focus in her eyes. The focus that she would only see when they were out in the field bagging and tagging.

The way it had always been.

The way it used to be.

The way it was now.

"Just like old times indeed," she smiled back. And for a second she thought she'd start crying again, but she didn't.

Both of them didn't.

A red flash rematerialized outside the room.

"Got it," rumbled John as he walked towards Helen.

"Thank you," she noted taking the salt container from his hand. She walked back to Ashley and took a syringe pulling free the plunger and poured the contents into the tube.

John walked closer to stand behind them. "Salt?"

"Yeah," Ashley said seriously as she placed a plunger back into the syringe she was holding, "the creatures are allergic. It'll kill them."

"Mm," he hummed. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. This could get tricky."

"I know but I have experienced what these creatures are capable of twice now. I am not leaving any room for error if I can manage. What if you get incapacitated John. Then we would have no means to teleport them into their habitat."

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Hey, dad," John turned to Ashley, "You patch up mom, I'll fill the tubes."

Helen could have cleaned her wounds herself. She had always been so independent and usually shunned others from assisting her, but for once, she let someone else play doctor. And as she leaned against the counter, arms folded, and watched him carefully dab the gauze to her stinging cut, she had to admit that if felt good to be taken care of. Something she truly had missed for such a very long time.

A few moments later Helen's wound had a small white suture in place and arms cleaned of tiny glass shards.

"Right as rain," asked John with a generous smile.

"Yes, thank you," she sighed to him as she turned to walk behind Ashley to open a bottom cabinet. "I have a few canvas back packs we can keep the syringes in," she explained as she pulled them out to place on the counter. "Now let's see about the boys."

Ashley grabbed a large syringe and sprung forward to take lead as they strode out into the hazy passageway. "So, how do you want me to do this," she asked.

"I will unlock the door. We'll need to spray the contents on their skin. Preferably to their faces—"

"Allow me," interrupted John. "I can react faster if they pose a threat."

Ashley stopped at the sliding containment door. "If you're sure?" She handed him the syringe.

He nodded keeping an alerted stare into the bluish wintry cell.

"Alright then, here goes," said Helen as she punched in the number code.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A beep sounded as the metal door lurched sideways.

A cold rush of air filled the spaces at its entrance. John walked in slowly. His boots clanking against the frozen floor as he neared the two sleeping bodies.

"Be careful John, they are quick."

John stopped over Will's body that lay next to Henry's in the middle of the rectangular room. He took the syringe and sprayed the watery solution over their faces. The water cascaded in a thin spout-like hosing as all three waited for a reaction.

Nothing.

"John get them out," Helen ordered as she stood watching from the other side of the glass.

In a flash both Henry and Will lay outside the cell with John. "They are breathing," John announced still crouching over them.

Ashley bent down at slapped at Henry's cheek. "Hey, Henry, wake up. Wake up." Ashley then tilted he heads up towards Helen, "do you think they were stunned mom?"

"It could be the likely outcome," she agreed as she crouched in beside John placing a hand to Will's arm. "Protocol dictates they be armed with these creatures."

"Okay," Ashley counted in her mind, "we have two for sure on the loose, but only one had a stunner? So, what if they are others too."

"There are," came Helen's sharp answer. "There was a total of eleven Magoi. And look in the cell."

All three turned and counted the hibernating embryonic ice blocks lining the frozen walls. "There are only 8."

"Eight what," groaned Henry as he grumbled himself awake.

"Henry, hey, are you okay."

Henry blinked to find Ashley glaring over him. "Ash," he choked the name.

"Yeah, it's me, you're fine. The shape shifters got loose."

Helen stood and went to crouch beside Henry patting him on the stomach. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Henry shook his head, wrinkled his brow and sat up on his arms. "Ah, me and Will were bringing in the last block. I remember hearing a yell and turned to see Will falling to the ground. Next thing I saw myself, holding Will's stunner. He shot me."

"Alright, so we have three confirmed breaches."

Henry nodded then turned to face Ashley. He smiled but couldn't hide the tears. "Hey you," he whispered.

"Back at ya," she smiled through tears of her own as she opened her arms bringing him close. "Just another day at the Sanctuary," she said resting her head on the top of his shoulder. "I tell ya, those damn things are convincing. I seriously thought it was Will."

"They are sweetheart. They made me believe I saw John after our plane crashed on our first encounter. It can be near to impossible to tell what's real and what is an illusion."

"Jedi mind tricks," came a low voice as Will rubbed at his forehead. "What's our situation?"

"Young William, welcome back to the land of the conscience." John reached out a hand to help him stand.

"Shape shifters are roaming my Sanctuary. And we are about to go find them. Henry, I need you to give us back control of the security feeds. For some reason they are down."

Henry planted a soft kiss to Ashley's forehead as she pulled back to help him stand. "Up you go brother."

Helen watched both Ashley and Henry beaming smiles back at each other. God she was trying so hard to contain her emotions having her family back together. Seeing both non-blood siblings in each other's hold warmed her heart completely.

Will took a step towards Ashley, "Ashley…"

"Will," she grinned. "Long time no see." She was still sensitive knowing it had been just as long for him as it was the rest of her family.

He took a step closer to her and also embraced her tightly. "You're a miracle do you know that."

"I've been called a lot of things, but never that."

"Welcome home Ash," whispered Henry placing his hand to her back.

Soft chuckles echoed from the small family reunion as John watched Helen smiling beside him.

"Alright gentlemen, I know we are all experiencing a deep amount of emotion but we will have time for this later. We must stay focused on the matter at hand. We need to get a move on."

"John, I need you to take Henry to the armory, we need weapons."

"Right, doc," agreed Henry.

"We have syringes preloaded with a salt solution. But I want hand guns also."

John nodded to Henry as he walked to him.

In a flash they were gone.

"What else can these things do? I mean, that double made it look like she teleported in place."

"It was an illusion Ashley. Nothing more. They can't teleport."

"But it disappeared for a second. Can they completely become invisible?"

"I don't believe so," Helen answered as she motioned for them to follow her down the passageway towards Henry's small tech lab. Ashley quickly fell in pace beside her mother—eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the shadows surrounding them. "However, it seems like they can only do it for a brief moment. A visual change in perspective of sorts that makes you believe you witnessed and invisible sight. It takes an incredible amount of focus for them to just imitate others as well as manipulate their surroundings."

"Can they read minds?"

Helen patted Ashley's back. "They can sense things yes, which help them portray behaviors and images, but they are not capable of reading one's mind all the time. Just in short bursts so to speak."

"Will, can you go to the medical room and grab the first aid kit. And an arm sling."

"Sure." Will took off in a jog back down the other end of the passageway as Helen and Ashley returned to Henry's lab.

Helen stopped behind Ashley, pulling off a pony tail holder from around her wrist and pulled her wet hair back into a low bun. The last thing she needed was her hair to get in the way of a grave fight.

Helen then reached out and took hold of her daughter by her shoulders and gently turned her to face her. Ashley was met with watery blue eyes and a straight set jaw. Helen eyes traced her face and stared at her in great detail and continued worry.

"If I put you somewhere safe until this is over would you comply with my decision?"

Helen was so afraid, deathly afraid that harm would come to her again with this new threat. She had just returned home and Helen only had a short term idea to help her recover. She had no idea what the effects would warrant in having her back in action so soon.

"What? No way, I'm not letting you out of my sight. Or anyone else for that matter."

Helen huffed an irritated sigh and looked away then back to Ashley. "I don't want you to be in harm's way."

Ashley stepped back from her as a defiant but understanding tone sparked her voice. "We are always in harm's way remember? It's part of the brochure of Sanctuary life."

Helen fought back a wry smile edging her lips. Her daughter always could put things rather humorously, even when she wasn't trying to be funny.

"Plus, where would you put me? I randomly teleport. I could just well think of you and teleport right back to you. No, I am staying with you guys and that's final." Her left hand Helen noticed was scrunched into a clenched fist.

"Oh Ashley why do you have to be so stubborn," Helen negated. It wasn't meant to be directed in anger, just motherly frustration. Ashley knew that.

A red swirling flash lit up the passageway.

"Doc, we're back."

"We're in here Henry," she advised him. Henry shuffled in holding multiple waist and shoulder straps clipped with a 9mm holster and gun. John was carrying a hand full of black Kevlar bullet proof vests. But it was another gun that Helen raised an eyebrow to.

"Dude, you're a freaking genius," came Ashley's normal response to Henry's idealistic inventive nature. Helen let a little nervousness fade in hearing Ashley's spirited reaction. She definitely was getting charged up for their undertaking while still expressing her usual banter towards Henry. It was a good sign.

Henry cocked the plastic gun giving Helen a childlike grin. "Say hello to my little friend, the Nerf Super Soaker 2000. A water gun that can hold half a gallon of water. I figured at least one of us should have it."

"Never underestimate a boy and his toys," Ashley respectfully noted as she took a weapons belt from Henry.

"You said it Ash, I keep all my toys," he voiced proudly with a wink to her.

"Henry," Helen nodded failing to force back a smile, "you never cease to amaze me. Well done."

"I thought you'd be impressed. I'll go fill it up. Be back in a second." Henry left running into the dark hallway.

Helen was so positively taken back at everyone's attitude. It was like nothing had ever happened to change it. Henry and Ashley were joking just like always even with imminent danger lurking around every corner. Ironically with this very situation. It reassured her more than she would let on but they were still in the dark of the creature's locations and the blind danger was not lost on her.

"Helen, I think we should stay as a single group."

Helen grabbed a belt from John and looped it over her pants one. "That was the plan. We'll start with a first floor sweep and work our way up. I'll get Henry to lock down every corridor we filter through. That way nothing can follow in behind us. We'll trap them in like mice."

Ashley unloaded her mag and snapped the row of bullets back in place. "Just promise me one thing mom, after we sort out this mess..."

Helen glanced at her daughter watching her return the black 9mm to her holster on the left side of her waist band. Ashley looked up at her, eyes weighted in memories. "…We get me a new gun. I kinda lost mine a while back."

The expression that laced Ashley's face was subtle, but Helen read it like a book. A sentimental wash graced her daughter's face with remembrance of one special gold plated gun she was given on her 21st birthday.

"Yes love," she promised with a smile, "we will have to see about that won't we."

* * *

><p>The elevator creaked and rumbled upwards to the first floor. All were cladded in the black vest armor and guns made ready. Henry had a shoulder strap to his water weapon and let it sling across his back. Each front and back pocket of the five of them held a single needleless syringe filled with the salty liquid. They were ready as they'd ever be.<p>

Henry had one hand holding a small device. "Doc I still can't bring up the visuals feeds. We'll have to go in blind for now."

"Alright, we stay close and suspect anything and everything. We have a lot of ground to cover—eyes sharp everyone."

Ashley had refused to wear the sling Helen had wanted her to have. Her mobility in her right arm was still awful at best but she figured it would be less of a safety hazard to not wear it. The last thing she needed was to get tangled in the wrong place at the wrong time. She took in a deep slow breath and gripped her fingers tightly around the sable 9mm. She was an expert shooter, 'a heart breaker' as her mom once called her during a shooting practice run after their trip back from Rome.

And now they were in the heart of madness inside their home fighting to secure it.

In some ways, nothing had changed at all.

The iron casted elevator doors parted and a perpendicular hallway met them.

"I'll take lead, Will Henry stay a step behind me, Ashley you in the middle, John you watch our six. We'll go right. Let's move…"

The organized family fell in place like pieces of a chess board as they cautiously walked out into the open.


	25. Chapter 25

Author's note: I am gobsmacked at the reviews you guys. *Blushes* Really, I can't believe all of the kind and supportive reviews you all have been sending my way. I am so happy you are enjoying my ideas and direction for Start of Days, which is actually, psst... End of Nights titled backwards. :) Pours a hot cup of tea for all. Thank you.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 25<p>

Ashley eyed the cream plaster coated walls following each sketchy line and molded smear as she paced forward.

There was a soft clang from the extra load of syringes swaying in their canvas back packs. Other than that it was soft breathing and muted footsteps on terracotta.

"Ashley, John, I am going to activate the EM Shield for a few seconds. Stay tight."

The whole grouped stopped mid hallway as Henry tapped at a small touchpad screen initiating his techno wizardry. John took the initiative to walk up to Ashley and placed a hand to her shoulder. "Just to counteract if you accidently teleport—my teleport may will cancel yours if you do so before we completely dematerialize."

Ashley caught the look of distraught in his face, though it only lingered for a moment before clear focus returned. She nodded, hoping there was truth in that.

"All done folks." Henry leaned closer to Helen as she viewed the screen on his device. "Doc," he chimed low, "I was able to bypass the camera feeds and link thermal imaging into the EM Shield after I turned it on. We have two creatures centered in the entrance foyer. They are trying to access the main frame through the side wall security outlet. The third," he growled, "is in the SHU hanging out in front of one of the enclosures."

"They're trying to release the Abnormals..." Helen exhausted through gritted teeth.

The one thing Helen Magnus hated most, was unwelcomed guests in her home.

"Mom, they know the password," Ashley griped as she tugged at the collar of her black Kevlar vest, "that Will double had told me which numbers to punch in to let him out."

"We're fine, I changed them, put them on emergency shutdown. They can't get out. For now."

Helen glanced behind her then back at Henry. "Henry, create a path for us to follow into the entry foyer. I want to keep and element of surprise and take them from the first floor. If we can ambush them we can take them down quickly without any bloodshed."

"Okay, I will force a closing on every hallway in the house." He scrolled on the touchscreen with his fingers as a red block flashed on the small screen. 'Initialize' it read as Henry tapped it, "and we're a go."

Heavy secured guard doors slammed down along corridors and short hallways throughout the Sanctuary—as it had done on the very evening that ended with the darkest of nights.

The loud thudding was felt beneath them as every floor of the Sanctuary was walled in, leading only a single path to the creatures for them to take.

Helen flashed a glance to Ashley. It was a 'you can do this. But I wish you were not taking such a risk so soon' expression. Ashley nodded with a slight squint of her eyes, as she straightened her shoulders, as if she was answering 'I understand you. But this is what I do'.

And reluctantly Helen nodded in cautious approval and turned around returning her focus once again to the mission unraveling in their Sanctuary home. "Let's move out. Keep us posted Henry on any changes."

"You got it."

The five of them shuffled off in a jog down the long hallway, rounding left through a brighter shade of the morning's light shining through an open curtained window on their right. Will and Henry kept their guns pointed down to the floor eyes still searching for odd movement in their path. Will's blue eyes concentrated on the side dark wooded tables and lit lamps, picture frames, flower vases, and knick-knacks atop the surfaces of each table. He analyzed if a door was cracked open or closed, but all they passed every now and again were doors that were shut.

Ashley filtered her eye line from the center position like a telescoping hawk. Adrenaline was surging, pumping heavily through her veins as she kept in pace with the group. And she was excited. She needed this. Redemption in a way, to prove she was still capable of what she was preemed to do, trained to do—what she had lived to do. Nothing in life had given her more of a rush other than peeling off of Dead Bridge on her motorcycle after her late night meditations on life.

Which reminded her—_did they keep my bike?_

As they rounded what seemed like the fifth hallway Helen halted them with a silent fist raised at a spiraling staircase—a stairwell that would bring them in down right under the right entry stairs of the entry foyer.

"Hold tight guys, I'm switching the EM Shield on again," Henry warned again for Ashley and John. "The two are still there," acknowledged Henry and then switched it off a moment later.

"I want each of us to slowly take the steps down, John when you get to the end and have them in our sight I want you to teleport one into the habitat. Jump out and hit 5 on the numbered passcode. This action will slam the door shut."

"Understood," he replied with a head tilt to her. "For the rest of us," she nodded to the group, "we keep firing stuns at the other creature. Last resort we shoot to kill."

Four nods gleaming with widened eyes answered.

One by one they followed Helen down the spiral black iron steps. Soft footfalls pinged quietly as they made their way down. Upon reaching the last step, the group huddled under the right stairwell.

A shuffle of noise caught their attention off to their right.

Biggie was standing at the corner of the wall, a finger raised to shush them of his presence. He sent a wink their way and raised his stunner, his other hand raising two fingers to let them know of the two creatures at the door.

John teleported over to him and revealed their plans.

When he turned his gaze back to the huddled family a blue flash erupted sending his body airborne as the Big Guy aimed his fully charged weapon at his back. John was tossed ten feet forward across the narrow spaces between each entrance staircase. His body lofted down and slid to an immobilized slump on his side.

Within that moment Biggie had fired a trail of blue hissing electrical charges into the scattering group across the way. Henry was hit first, the impact crashing him into the wall behind them. His body collided against the square inset stone and fell slack face first into the floor.

Ashley pulled her mother by her Kevlar vested collar to find cover behind the thinly iron worked stairwell.

Before Will could get a clear aim he too succumbed to the fully charged stun that sent him flying into a small corner under the main right staircase.

"Bloody Hell," spat Helen as she forcibly pushed Ashley down beside her as she fired an array of bullets peering through an open section between the iron railing. She kept a secure hold to her daughter's back refusing to allow her daughter to push back up in resistance.

"Stay down," came the muffled cry above the terror erupting around them. Bullets spit through the plastered walls from Helen's fire sending white pasty dust into the air across the way. The antiquated small horizontal wood planks, beneath the plaster, that held up the walls were being eaten away by her gun fire revealing the oldest of the Sanctuary's foundational structures.

Helen fell back on one knee to stay clear of touching the black iron as blue sparks exploded like fireworks right in front of her face. Teal flashes arced all around her from the staircase as the Magoi kept firing non-stop.

Then suddenly brick was exploding sending heavy cemented chips into the burnt air behind her. The Magoi had switched to the concentrated charges that held a magnetic pulse sending a more tangible stream of fire. Ashley managed to lift her head to see a blur of fur across the spaces firing at them through the narrow hallway. She huffed a heavy exhale, raised her weapon bringing her left arm across her right shoulder to shoot from outside the protection of the stairwell.

Blast. Blast blast blast blast blast.

And the Magoi faltered a step. It stumbled back with a drowsy back pedal, lowering his weapon for a mere second.

That was all she needed.

She yelled as she jumped to her feet, with one step she veered around the staircase, one more, a second and third into a dead run—sliding feet first towards a small pocket of a corner wall nearly twenty feet to her right.

On her left side she fell into a slide, skimming the surface of the slick terracotta floor, the white fiery blasts sparking at the end of the gun—filling the tall thin Magoi with more skin piercing, body ripping projectiles. With each impact Ashley watched the illusion fade weaker into a scaly green hide with rounds tearing through its thick reptilian flesh. Black blood trails oozed and splashed out from its epidermis as its head fell slack, rotating unnaturally along its neck. The fight ended with it falling on its back and her sliding feet first into the small crook blasting her 9mm rounds until the clip was empty.

Ashley immediately crawled over to a crouch to peer at her mom.

Helen was still pointing her weapon towards the dead Magoi, her large blue eyes fixed on her daughter.

Ashley flashed a musing smile.

"We got two more to find," she hissed low as she ran over to her mom. Ashley kept low, with her right hand held tight to her jeans pocket, cradling her shoulder for support.

When she got to her mom she reloaded her 9mil and side stepped to check Will, Henry then John. After a few moments she returned to get Henry's hand held device that lay on the floor beside his leg. "Everyone's alright, just out for the count."

With a few taps she turned on the bypassing protocols Henry had put in place to do a thermal sweep of the Sanctuary. The EM Shield turned on as Ashley searched the contained spaces nearby. "I found them. They are trapped. They must have taken the west end corridor," she pointed to where the fallen Magoi lay. The narrow hallway he was laying in led into a perpendicular corridor leading straight off to the right that could be accessed by just taking a left upon entering the entry foyer. It ended and opened into a quite larger room.

"They are in the library scattering like mice. They are hiding behind a table or something. They won't be able to get out." Ashley's voice was heavy with confidence, focus, and an obviously undeniable pitch of wild adrenaline.

Helen listened silently as her daughter spoke her words. She still hadn't gotten used to hearing her soft voice again.

She had missed it.

She had missed her.

After all, time and tragedy had made it so hard for her to remember. To just remember the one thing she thought she'd never forget.

Her voice.

For it was that one single word that had haunted her but allowed her to vaguely remember the simple lilt of her voice.

Mom.

"Mom," Ashley shook her mom's shoulder softly, "you okay, you listening?"

Helen blinked in a subtle head shake as she reached across her chest to pull a magazine free and reload her gun. "Yes. I am listening. The library."

"Yeah, right now they're in one spot. I think the other thermal image in the SHU is the Big Guy as Henry's main lab is empty."

"That would be a plausible outcome. He may be stunned as well."

"Let's hope that's all it is. I don't like losing people on my watch." Ashley spit the words as she helped her mom to her feet. "How do you want to do this? There are two ways in, but we'll have to raise the security walls up and that will make a ruckus. They'll see it coming if we try to access them from behind."

"Too dangerous I agree," added Helen. "Dear god, either way we do this we'll be pinned down."

"Unless?"

"Unless what?"

"Do we have water balloons?"

Helen frowned. "No why."

"Damn," scathed Ashley. "We could fill them with the salt water from Henry's water gun. Toss them in like grenades."

"Well, that is a brilliant idea I do say."

"Come on Ashley think," she said to herself. "Maybe I can teleport again."

"No," Helen raised her hand nudging her daughter's left shoulder with her finger. "Not an option. And don't you attempt it Ashley."

"Well, what if I could get in, just try to… teleport behind them—"

Helen shot a glance she had seen before. Just like the time she walked from her for the very last time as she and Henry left for Cabal Headquarters.

"Okay, no teleporting," she sighed feeling a creeping sadness fill her heart again. "Bad idea, what was I thinking."

"We'll just have to fire in from the frame of the doors. I'll get the stunner and blast through their makeshift table barriers. We'll make our last stand there."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Alright, let's go."

Helen led the way across the way and picked up the stunner from the floor beside the Magoi's limp scaly hand and made their way to the entrance of the library.

The doors were wide open exposing a morning glow shining through the large wonder that was the book room. Ashley crouched by the door and straightened her back against the outer stone wall and took in a deep breath.

Before she could turn her head a hand gripped the right side of her injured shoulder and pulled her in the room, lifting her off her feet as her heals clunked against the wood of the door frame.

She heard her mom's helpless cry of _NO_ as the strong arms flung her into the wall of books lining the right side of the wall. A thud sounded as books fell around her and over her. Before she could lift her weapon a heavy colliding force pounced onto her body.

The other Magoi had strategically positioned itself behind a table flipped sideways as a wall of protection. It unleashed a torrent of magnetically charged indigo into the doorway. Again stone smashed into pale dust creating a white pasty mist at the entrance.

This isn't happening—was Helen's only thought.

Just as another crushing sapphire blast exploded stone above Helen's face a dark blur flew past her line of vision.

Henry was in full HAP.

He launched into the vast room with a howl that rumbled the ribs of Helen's chest.

A dark fury angered Henry Foss burrowed across the room with lightning speed barreling in jumps and lunges, ducks and skids over the distances to at last crash into the desk and the Magoi like a raging freight train. The immense impact tossed their bodies wildly with the broken table pieces flying in every direction. The stunner was lost from the creature's hand as it flew backwards onto the maple wood floors.

Ashley's body slammed deeper into the bookshelves unleashing another wave of colored books to cascade down around them. Again she was met by blonde hair and blue eyes.

It disgusted her.

She screamed her anger aloud in an exasperated yell.

Ashley head butted the creature—creating a quick defensive recoil from the Abnormal. It pawed at the air trying to grab blindly at her, any piece of her. Ashley then waited for an opening then swiftly kneed its stomach sending it backwards unbalanced on its knees.

Helen ran in the room angling to her right with her weapon poised and leveling at the two Ashleys. Her focus shifted with the announcement of devilish roaring howls emanating from across the library as two HAPS fought like rabid dogs.

"Ashley," Helen screamed as she stepped forward towards them.

"Mom, the syringes," Ashley yelled out almost breathless as the creature grabbed at her shoulders trying to force her down face first to the floor.

With all the chaos Helen had forgotten the single important detail of the salt water.

Whether or not it was Ashley, it was logical.

The creature still faltered on its knees but freed one of this hands from its grip and swiped across the front of Ashley's Kevlar vest before it completely lost its balance from another knee to its stomach. Ashley grimaced and sent a numbing left fist to its jaw—hearing a sick snap as she watched the jowl detached at the corner under skin sending a wave of blood from its mouth.

A blood curling hiss filled the air as Ashley leaned forward to jump to her feet.

Helen pulled free both syringes from her pockets and sprayed the contents over both Ashleys as she sidestepped a circle around both of them in a clockwise motion.

The salt water shot across Ashley's face burning her eyes in a horrible wave of flaming pain. "Ahhhh," she cried as she stumbled sideways falling into the tall bookshelf. The Ashley Magoi yelled in Ashley's exact tone as the thin steams of salt water sprayed across the back of its neck and onto its hands. Helen's focus was instantly cemented on Ashley, her Ashley— the first one that responded to the pain with the screams that bled from her reaction from the intensity of the salty stinging in her eyes.

Helen took that as a warning it was the creature.

In what seemed like a blur of slow motion she reached for her weapon. She unholstered her 9mm berretta and took aim at Ashley as she fell against the bookcase squeezing her eyes shut to the fiery burn. Without hesitation Helen released her clip into Ashley's chest. White sparks flashed at the end of the gun's muzzle as bullets fired, one by one, with each sending her body into multiple unyielding impacts sinking her deeper into the bottom of the book shelf.

After her clip emptied she saw a trickle of blood release from Ashley's lip as she slumped sideways to the floor.

The Magoi Ashley turned to Helen staring with an unnatural smirk. Helen watched as the expression grinned into bloody jagged sickly teeth.

Helen's soul turned to ice.

"Nicely done, _mom._" The creature's almost incoherent slur made itself present with its hissing husky words as it slinked to its feet, slowly morphing into a double of Helen.


	26. Chapter 26

Author's note: Aww, guys... sorry I didn't expect such a passionate response to this cliffhanger. *you guys make me teary eyed reading your reviews* I am posting these two chapters to keep the events going without further 'commercial breaks'. Hang in there Ashley fans,... :)

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><p>Chapter 26<p>

Henry's long animalistic nails tore into the shoulders of the Magoi as his hind legs kicked against its legs. Painful roaring continued to echo from their throaty growls as Henry rolled on his back flipping the creature over him to land and break in half a wooden reading table.

Henry rolled and pounced forward lashing in cross swipes at the Abnormal as it struggled to find its footing. Henry cocked his ears back in anger as he displayed sharp white fangs and pink drooling gums. He plowed forward his heavy transformed frame pushing the creature backwards so hard they both paced the ten feet back crashing through the paned window of the library.

Before Helen could reload her gun the creature leapt towards her arms reaching out. Helen's head shot up, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet as she quickly side stepped to her right sending an upper cut into the side of the creatures face.

The jaw totally unhinged itself and hung down causing Helen's stomach to twist with nausea at the sight. The creature stumbled in a crumbling heap to the floor. Helen reloaded her gun with shaking fingers that caused her to nearly drop the magazine of bullets to the wood floor.

She had never shot a creature in the back.

Never.

The bullet sank into its spine with a blast and the Magoi stilled with its metamorphic illusionary mask returning its green scaly epidermis.

Helen holstered her gun.

She felt her pressured blood pounding in her ears, pulsating loudly as the thuds reverberated rapidly. Adrenaline and horrid dread weighted her heart down making her emotions feel heavy—a sickened feel that she had never experienced before. It was only in the sublevel nearly four years ago where such an event could blindly compare. But Helen didn't fire Nikola's weapon. No. She could never have killed Ashley. And, she'd rather die at her hands than murder her own baby girl.

Helen sprinted the few feet over to her daughter but the ten feet had felt like a mile run before she was close enough to take in the sight of her motionless daughter. Ashley looked peaceful, as if she was sleeping but the trail of red dripping from her mouth destroyed every sense of calm semblance.

"NO," Helen seethed against as a shivering chill crawled through her spine.

"I'm sorry—I'm sorry, oh god I didn't know…" she wailed as her features furrowed—her voice catching in her chest as she felt herself not being able to breath.

The dark bullet impressions riddled the lower half of Ashley's black vest; peeling up tiny round corners revealing the layered patterns of its dark fabric. Helen fell to her knees nearly sliding into Ashley's body from the run over. Helen's medical protocols prioritized her thoughts as she desperately reached for a pulse on the right side of her neck. Ashley was awkwardly slumped back into the book shelf, shoulders and head resting on the bottom wood shelf. Opened books lay around her face and blanketed around her prone body.

"Ashley…" Helen pleaded.

A thudding of a pulse thumped under her two fingers.

She was breathing.

Hopeful wings of relief seemed to float Helen's heart back into her chest feeling the pulse of life beneath her touch. But she couldn't wash the image from her mind of emptying the clip at her. Her soul racked with the reasons of why she would be able to be blessed with a miracle of her return only to end her life by her own hands.

Helen pulled Ashley from under her arms to position her closer as she kneeled down over her. She grabbed at the Kevlar vest seeing four claw marks scraped across the center of the jacket. She noticed almost instantly that the wide claw rips hadn't pierced through.

Helen slapped desperately at her cheek hoping to stir a response. When no movement gave retort her hands returned to the bullet proof Kevlar prying the velcro fitting apart to open the vest; which she cursed at herself for not doing so the first time. She separated the vest halves and looked down to find Ashley's black cotton shirt. Without consciously checking to see if it was torn from bullet holes and soaked in blood she quickly pulled up the shirt.

She frowned against painful tears as she ran her hand softly over skin. She detailed the pale skin and blinked every second she stared. Heavy tears rimmed her eyes and dropped from her cheeks as she kneeled in frightened alarm. Again she ran her hand along the soft skin expecting to find wet warm life bleeding from her.

But there were no wounds.

No punctures.

No blood.

She then jumped up with lethal force and trailed back over to the Magoi, she reached down to check a pulse thinking it was still alive and creating a paradox hiding Ashley's injuries from her.

No pulse.

And she thought to herself if it had been alive it would have attacked her as her back was facing away from Ashley. It was a plausible theory at best and made the most sense to her. Helen ran back over to her daughter fighting hard against the welling warmness of tears obscuring her vision. She knelt back down wiping her face with her outer sleeve, then leaned closer. "Ashley. Talk to me… say something," she whispered as she lowered her face to hers. She cupped her daughter's fragile face and tapped her lower jawline.

"Please… I'm so sorry."

She had spoken those words before. And its emotion could have well been felt across the vast distances, of the world.

She slumped lower over her daughter and clenched the soft black fabric and dropped her head to her daughter's stomach. "Ashley you have to wake up. Wake up…"

Ashley groaned with the movement.

"Ash…"

Ashley opened her blue eyes and shut them quick. "Ooouch."

"What? What's the matter?" Helen questioned as she scooped up her daughter from under her arms again holding her close to her. As if she was a baby and not still 23… because she was 23. For she really hadn't lived through the years she was gone.

"Jeez mom," she griped hoarsely, "you got salt water in my eyes." Ashley fussed as she rubbed her eyes with her left hand.

If only Ashley knew how Helen was feeling right now.

If only she knew.

"Dear lord I thought I shot… you," she said as she wiped away the salted residue from across her eyes. Ashley then stretched forward with watery eyes to focus on her surroundings. She leaned her head to the side to look over her mother's shoulder and found a dead Magoi laying a little ways behind them.

Helen slid her hands to Ashley's shoulders. "I heard you scream. I shot, at you…" Helen was dazed nearly lethargic in distress.

"Oh mom," Ashley slowly rolled to her knees pulling her mom to her "you didn't know. You didn't know," she comforted.

"Bloody aged Christ you were bleeding from the mouth. I thought…" Helen groaned as a wave of tears broke like a dam from her eyes. Ashley just embraced her closer.

"It's all good mom. I just bit my lip again, the salt had a wicked sting. And," she shook her head slightly as a wave of dizzyness crept in, "think I hit my head on the bookshelve," It was almost a humorous laugh at which the coppery taste of blood revealed Helen's reasoning to Ashley.

"Ashley oh sweetheart I'm so sorry."

Helen felt Ashley breathe a heavy sigh against her hold.

"I'm sorry too."

Ashley's words withered from her damaging memories. Instinct and gut reactions are sometimes all they could rely on. And in this instance Helen had been quick to choose her decision. She had been on emotional overdrive for not just the last 113 years but for the last few hours. And in some way mother and daughter now stood on the same precipice of understanding from being the target and the assassin between them.

"This makes, us even," Ashley whispered low.

Ashley felt a wave of sobs shudder against her as Helen started to laugh. And cry—at the same time.

And then Ashley started to cry. And laugh. And cry.

The pressure finally exerted itself in the form of hysteria as they fought to control the seriousness of their plight.

Past and present.

"Oh god," yelled Ashley as she pulled back from Helen's arms. She gave her mom a blank stare then pushed herself to her feet feeling reality drown back over her.

"What?"

"Henry? Where is he?"

When Helen turned around to gaze across the room Ashley pulled free her syringes and sprayed Helen sending the salty mixture to squirt across her neck. Helen winced and took a step back but immediately realized Ashley's cause.

Helen's face and body failed to shift in diluted imagery. Ashley made her relief known with a grunted sigh. Ashley dropped the syringes to the ground with a raise of an eyebrow. "Sorry," Ashley huffed as she folded the left side of her Kevlar vest across her chest to connect the fitting. "Had to be sure."

An echo of what sounded like fighting wolves rung from the open shattered window at the far corner of the room.

"Henry," alerted Helen.

Both mother and daughter took off running across the open room wielding their weapons leveled.

Ashley got there first and took a quick recon of the window sill. Sharp pointed broken glass lined the bottom of the window's stone frame while large chunks seemed to have been sent flying outside in the small arched pathway. Ashley wiped clear a hand hold with a swiped of her gun smashing the rest of the pointy shards to unthreatening pieces. She sprung her leaping body sideways over the window sill landing on her feet to find two furry HAPS off to her right. A second thud announced Helen was right behind her.

Both HAPS prowled slowly in a circle snarling heavily at one another.

"I'm so tired of Make Believe," she fumed as her blue eyes darkened with impatience. "HENRY," she screamed as both turned to her. "TRUST me. I need for you to return back to human form."

"TOO dangerous," one gurgled in a growl.

"I don't care! Do it. I have a plan!" Ashley bobbled on her heels as she breathed in the bitter chill of the morning; a morning that now broke through the sky to glow its dawn all around Old City.

Henry eyed that both Helen and Ashley had raised guns standing side by side. He didn't want to do it, but he waddled backwards a few steps as he turned back towards the Magoi. It paced a few steps as well keeping its back towards the entry gate of the Sanctuary. It imitated a growl of response, "if that's what you want me to do."

But what it really wanted to do was escape across the blanket of white powdery snow of the lawn. Only to fade into civilized life and finding solace with every violent means it was capable of.

The fog left their snarling muzzles and lingered in the icy air for a few more moments until the mist dissipated. The fur on Henry's body receded ever so slowly as his skeletal frame mutated back to its natural state. His counterpart mimicked his every mutating recession visually.

Bare skin exposed itself to the elements.

Ashley walked forward, breathing fog clouds heavily as her boots scuffing the cold stone in the morning light. She stopped when she was nearly in reach of Henry. She carefully eyed the other that stood ten feet from her. "Henry?"

"Yeah Ash," came the voices in unison.

"You!" She ordered to the one within reach, "turn and face me."

Henry had no idea where she was going with this but he listened. He slowly turned keeping his arms raised in a non-threatening manner.

She saw what she needed to see.

She leveled her gun to the other Henry and shot a clear shot through its right thigh. The creature hissed violently as its skin faded to its natural green. It rebounded but Ashley shot at its other thigh taking it to the ground. "One more attempt and I will kill you," she promised. "You're move."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

She had given it a choice—a choice to live—a choice for Sanctuary.

Helen felt a surge of motherly pride exude from her heart. Ashley's mental stability was still in check with the heart of their work still holding true to her being. Helen watched the Magoi as it breathed deeply. Its scaly features were thick and dragonesce-like. Several shades of green shaded the small veiny edges of the small layered skin. Its eyes were black and shiny and they almost seemed to glow in the low morning light. A light fog of breath continuously blanketed around its face.

The creature eyed Ashley. Bright colored shades shadowed her features and resonated off of all their bodies through its sensitive eyesight. The colors seemed to bounce with extra light.

The bullets that had torn into its thick skin felt like fire burning with a constant spark at the wound's site. The warm sticky blood welled between its fingers and dripped dark black onto the cold icy stone. Its eyes, totally black and wide shifted to Henry and watched curiously as red blood trails bled from his chest and shoulders. It blinked then stared lastly at Helen.

She was standing so close to the younger one, with one of her hands resting on her back, eyes focused on it, gun raised. The creature winced painfully at the hurting as it seethed through sharp tiny teeth. A deep short breath echoed from its lungs and it watched as the air hung like a cloud around its thin face. It was tired and feeling sleepy all of a sudden as the agony continued to course through its injured body.

It returned its attention to Ashley staring at her blue eyes and blonde hair and wondered about this place although it had taken what it needed from their minds to get as far as it had. He was the one that imitated Henry in the sublevel. He was the one that understood their Sanctuary cause and why they did what they did.

It knew it now as it looked deeper into their minds.

It is human nature to survive.

Survival of the fittest they say. But to the creature, it was new to the world—with these beings having given it its first taste of existence in a society.

It had no prior memory of a place in which it was born of. Such were the independent Magoi, reptilian in nature that do not have families. The gestation rate for their species is quite short and rapid once it breaks free from its icy womb. Their species originated in the high elevation mountains of Nepal where it is isolated and cut off from the nurturing civilized world.

Love is one thing it was never taught, for it was blindly wild, born of a manipulated breed void of humanity.

So it seemed.

But sentient beings are all capable of learning.

The brightly pigmented hues of its vision waned though it tried to blink the invading darkness away. Still the three waited in silence for the Magoi's response but only silence remained.

It whined inwardly as they pain racked its body. It was even more painful than the deep abrasions from Henry's HAP claws—as it well should be. Bullets had pierced flesh.

Now it was getting harder to breathe and it felt, scared. It forced another brief mind blending with Ashley and it only took a second for it to see more, to learn.

It sighed as a wave of comprehension grouted its way into its cognitive complex mind. Ashley's trials and tribulations had opened like a book to it.

And now it understood.

The Magoi Abnormal tilted its dizzying head towards the open lawn blanketed in white bright snow and stared at the distances of the large yard. It huffed another strained breath as it felt its heart beats slow and chest fall heavy. It sighed at its fading strength and slowly turned to look back at blonde hair and blue eyed Ashley.

A gentle raspy tone, deep and inhuman like breathed his words to her.

"She, forgives you—"

The voice lingered in the small stone archway leaving its last spoken words to fade in the fog of its last breath.

Its body then fell to its side and stilled.

"Oh my…" sighed Helen completely taken by the action.

Ashley stepped forward, feeling a twinge of emotion seize her throat. She lowered her left arm bringing her weapon to her side, carefully eyeing the dead creature. She shuffled a few steps closer and slowly knelt down beside the green Abnormal. Helen had followed her close behind weapon still drawn and eyes on its body.

Ashley holstered her gun. She stared in quiet and raised her hand gently and touched its head. The skin was cold and coarse but very slippery. She ran her hand slowly over its bald head until her palm fingered over its small ears and barely protruding brow. The large black eyes were still open. Ashley eyes welled again with watery emotion as she saw a few stray tears rimming the corner of its large opaque eyes.

Helen didn't need an explanation to know what it was trying to tell her daughter.

"God mom," Ashley choked softly, "I shouldn't have shot it."

"Ashley…" whispered Helen as she knelt down beside her.

"I don't understand. I thought they were mindless drones; with no, compassion." Ashley lowered herself down further to sit indian-style as she quietly stared at the Abnormal.

Helen continued keeping her voice calm and easy. "You were reacting on instinct. We all were. We have never seen them do anything else but manipulate with violence. You didn't know."

Ashley's concentration trailed off as the sun broke through the cloud line sending a brighter cascading glow across the sky. Ashley gazed in the distance at the wispy clouds edging the atmosphere. She watched the clouds change with the stratosphere's wind currents for a few lingering moments then returned her stare back at the creature. Ashley reached to gently close the lids of the Magoi's eyes. He had taken a page from her soul and read it like a book. And it had been out of kindness that it gave her an answer to one of her deepest, darkest, questions.

Helen carefully wrapped her left arm around her daughter's waist, "Come now, let's get you inside and into some warm clothes," came the soft tone of her accented voice.

Ashley stood as her mom helped pull her up but before she turned to walk she opened her arms and hugged her mom again. This time not letting go for a minute or so.

It caught Helen off guard but she held her daughter. And with every loving embrace she knew she had made the right decision to save her.

And no one in the bloody universe could tell her otherwise.

Henry had stayed quiet but he too was deeply touched by the creature's words.

For years too he had dreamed of her coming back into their lives, actual vivid dreams, but fearing the blame that she would direct at herself. Henry was still teetering on the fence of breakdown and Mr. Brave face since Ashley had come home. There was so much he wanted to tell her. Still so much he wanted to share. But he knew Helen had been planning this for what seemed like, to him, an eternity. When Ashley felt like coming to him to talk, he would be there for her.

And in some way Henry saw the Magoi's words as a gift to Ashley. For no one had ever blamed her for what happened.

No one.

Ashley finally pulled back face red and flushed with a blanket of wet tears she had silently cried. Helen cupped her face and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Ah, sorry I didn't want to interrupt but, the naked cold man wants to go inside."

Helen and Ashley laughed as they both found themselves guilty of forgetting Henry's state.

A lingering wind of gun powder still hung in the air from the gun fire as Henry smiled with lowered hands covering himself respectfully. Scratches and a few deep gashes gorged his chest and the corners of his shoulders near the ball and socket. The warm blood steamed against the freezing temperatures of dawn.

"Henry let's get you inside," instructed Helen immediately as she walked to him and gingerly guided him by his back.

"Ash, how did you know it was me," he questioned through chattering teeth as his warm breath fogged around his face.

Ashley blushed and both he and Helen smiled at her embarrassed reaction. Ashley cupped him on the right side of his face as she walked without letting her gaze go elsewhere. A few tears fell from her eyes wetting the corner of her already wet cheeks. "Oh do I have too?"

"Yes Ash," he said as they walked slowly towards the side door. Henry was already shaking with the cold temperatures and the cold stone beneath his bare feet just caused his beaten body to ache more. Ashley and Helen both felt the deep bone chilling air creeping through their still damp clothing.

"Ah," whispered Ashley as another wave of red flushed her pale cheeks, "…the other you, he didn't have pierced nipples."

Henry closed his eyes and bit his lip.

"Mom said that it may come down to the small things. So…"

Ashley then released her touch from his face and pulled free her vest and gave it to Henry to use as a cover. "Thanks Ash."

"You bet, just so long as I never again have to see another naked Henry," she sighed as she planted a kiss to his cheek before they walked through the side door.

"I love you nerd," she whispered sweetly.

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><p>Ashley had fallen asleep on the infirmary bed next to Henry's but before she drifted off into dreamland she and Helen had gratefully changed into dry clothing, temporarily wearing white medical scrubs. Ashley had wanted to stay close to Henry while he recouped from his injuries. And because he was her friend and brother that she cared for more than she could ever express. Henry's recovery wouldn't take long; he would be up and moving around shortly after to return to find some knick knack to program or create on his computer.<p>

Henry rested comfortably in white scrub pants as Helen stitched up his bare shoulders. The deepest of the scratches were along the tops of his shoulders but as always, they were battle scars that he wore proudly.

John sat quietly in a chair sipping warm tea the Big Guy had brought them. Biggie had indeed been stunned and placed outside of an enclosure in the SHU. But other than a groggily headache, the sasquatch was safe and well.

John placed his tea to the top of the medical cart and walked over to the side of the bed Ashley had adopted to take a nap on. She was sprawled on her back with one leg hanging off the edge. John gently lifted her leg back onto the bed and pulled the white thermal blanket from its end. He caringly pulled the blanket to rest at her shoulders then leaned in softly to kiss her bruised and sutured forehead.

He smiled and very gently brushed her damp hair from her forehead curling loose strands back over her ear.

Helen was watching him from the bed over. He stood there for a moment and just watched their daughter sleep. Helen felt herself overcome with emotion again as Henry raised his hand to hold hers that she had rested on his pillow. Tears brimmed from her eyes as Henry squeezed her hand. Helen just let the emotion run its course for a minute with seeing John so delicately keeping watch over Ashley.

For she had witnessed the first time he had ever tucked her in.

For it was something she had taken for granted for so long. Something she had missed so dearly after she believed Ashley had died. She had pleaded with the cosmos to give her daughter back, if only to tuck her in and tell her she loved her one more time.

John raised a hand to his face. Standing still.

But Helen caught the slight shuddering of his shoulders. Soon his soft crying echoes could no longer be forced silent. Will walked from the foot of Henry's bed and patted John on his back, whispered a few words then took his leave from the infirmary. The Big Guy followed.

"Go to him," whispered Henry, "I'm fine." He nodded with understanding as his morphine medicated blue eyes groggily reassured her. Helen smiled and placed the stitching needle and suturing thread beside his shoulder on the white sheet. She slowly got up, and walked over to him. She lovingly wrapped one arm around John's waist. He turned to her touch and lowered his head to her shoulder as they fully embraced.

And he cried.

Helen had really never seen him cry. Her tall stoic Montague John Druitt crying?

But he was as was Helen.

John cried for his freedom. Its happiness.

He cried for the century of pain he had caused by being host to a devil.

He cried for the two hundred years that he had to live without Helen as his friend—his lover.

He cried because he was never able to care for his daughter.

"John," she cried low. "What is it," she whispered as she kept one hand up to cradle the back of his neck.

He buried his head further into her shoulder.

"Please John..."

John swallowed hard against the waning of his throat. Their daughter stayed asleep in the bed beside them. Not even flinching from the movement and beeps of the infirmary as one allusive blue arm sling had returned by doctor's orders to cradle her right shoulder.

John found his breath. "I…," he quietly heaved a choking sob as his warm salty tears streamed into his mouth, "I have, my beautiful girls back," Helen's face contorted into a grimace with emotion as he paused to breathe again. "I have… a family."

John kissed Helen's neck softly as he nuzzled his face to the side of hers.

Helen tilted her head back so she could meet his gaze, letting her face rest against the side of his cheek. "Yes you do love. And I have _you_…"


	28. Chapter 28

Author's note: Okay Team Ashley fans, cue the words of Bob Marley, 'Every tings' gonna be alright'. Ashley will not die in this story. I just wanted to reassure you all. Once was enough! This is an Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Happy bring back Ashley fic. And we have a little ways to go still. :D As always, I hope you continue to enjoy!

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><p>As far as we can discern,<p>

the sole purpose of human existence,

is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.

—C. G. Jung Memories, Dreams, Reflections

Chapter 28

John Druitt swung his long legs over the small bricked ledge of Big Ben's clock precipice in the great city of London, England.

The cold high wind blew against his face and ruffled the collar of his blue buttoned oxford shirt. His black gloved hands rested in the front pockets of his black leather jacket as his legs stretched out in his black trousers. Slightly tired, he took a deep breath in of the city's many aromas. The air filled his lungs with that from the dampness eluding from The Thames, lingering trafficked smog and the musk of the wintry season.

John gazed across the skyline at the architectural masterpieces of old and modern fashioned buildings. Oh how things had changed from 1886 London, the very year they injected the Source Blood. It had been a time of adventures crossing into new territory of science and that of love.

He had fallen deeply in love with Helen here. It was a place that he and Helen had returned to many times while in seclusion. It was this very spot he would teleport them to so they could view the sunrise or sunset. Helen would bring the cheese and he the fine wine and they'd sit. Or rest awhile further back into the small but comfortable spaces under the massive clock. And on many occasions they'd be so lost in their words that the donging from the clock nearly jolted them off the bricked edge. Laughter would ensue from their startled fright. And at times it had become so infectious they were at a loss for the rest of the night in keeping straight faces.

For it was usually after dining somewhere in the city they would have a nightcap up here. And so they'd sit as the city quietly bustled to a calm after evening. He would talk of their past mostly. His dreams for what he wanted out of life before and after he had injected the Source Blood.

They were just fleeting conversions but it had brought them closer for it was John speaking from the heart without the Ripper's influence.

Helen kept their friendship close as the years turned to decades. Laughter always abounded with memories of Nikola, James, and Nigel. John had spoken of Ashley cautiously and delicately to her and in time he learned a little more about her. But not enough so he could actually feel a real connection. He could always pick out the soft vulnerability in her tone but he loved to see her face light up when she laughed at a memory or remembered something she hadn't in years.

John Druitt was happy.

He was now so overjoyed to know that the darkness was gone forever only to be replaced by the eternal light that was Helen and his living daughter Ashley.

A clear pink sky swept across London fading by the sun sinking beneath the horizon. John Druitt closed his blue eyes while smiling, and sighed his contentment into the wind.

* * *

><p>Old City was a glow within the early midday sun. The Sanctuary's roofs where blanketed in thick white powder as its grey stone balconies were covered with thick snow fall. The corners of each wall and small window frosted ashen along its edges. Old River flowed along sluggishly as the surface of its blue waters iced and melted back over.<p>

Inside the Sanctuary the infirmary was quiet.

The soft low light of the room comforted it with a sense of warmth.

Ashley woke up to soft beeps from medical machines as she found herself buried beneath two layered thermal blankets as Helen had covered her with a second.

Movement caught her eyes as Helen stood beside Henry's bed, still in white scrubs and hair pulled back into a ponytail holding a vanilla colored file as she read from the paged information. Her eyes followed down to a sleeping Henry wrapped in a white belted bandage across his chest and gauze pads taped to his strong shoulders.

She had missed his quips and man giggles and his bright smile. She had missed his enthusiasm when pleading to get her to come to his lab to show her his new toys and inventions. And whether or not it worked on the first try, she always was proud of his genius and loyalty to her family. He could have moved on from their lives and chosen a different path. But Henry Foss chose to stand beside them, protect and fight alongside, his family.

"Hey there," Helen called out softly as she found her daughter awake and looking her way. Helen smiled, adjusted Henry's BP cuff and placed his medical file to slink beneath the corner of his white pillow.

"Hey," Ashley whispered low as she lowered her left arm, reaching down to press the up button to raise the head of the bed so she could sit straighter. As she leaned down she let out a soft groan. "Damn it…" she hissed then fell back to her pillows.

"I was waiting for you to notice," Helen said sympathetically as she reached the side of her bed.

"Yep, chest is sore."

"You have bruising along your abdomen from the bullet impactions from the Kevlar. Here," Helen pulled out some Tylenol packaged pills from her pocket and reached for a water bottle on a side cart.

"You'll be alright. Just sore for a few days."

Ashley immediately noticed the guilt creep back into her eyes.

"And don't you apologize for it. Shit happens."

Both of them laughed softly knowing too well, it does indeed.

"Language young lady," she cheekily reprimanded.

"Oh mom, you've heard worse. Besides I've lost count of how many times you've said Bloody hell," Ashley mocked her best impression of a British accent.

Helen laughed again louder and gently sat down beside her helping her acclimate her two pillows behind her back. Ashley downed the pill drinking nearly the entire water bottle before placing it back to the side cart. "Where's everyone else."

Helen smiled warmly letting a curl of a smirk lace her lips, "Will and Biggie are out getting you some homecoming gifts," she revealed. "They said it was confidential and top secret."

"Roger that," chimed Ashley as she felt a fuzzy warm feeling fill her heart.

She gave another side glance to Henry.

Ashley had been so happy to see Henry down in the sublevel after discovering them unharmed in the Magoi habitat, but she wished it could have been under different circumstances. She had been rehearsing what she wanted to tell them all, still wanted to tell them all, but she really hadn't a moment to breathe since she'd been back.

"And John, where'd he go?"

Helen's eyes softened as she reached over and brushed her fingers through Ashley's hair. Ashley recognized that look from when she was a child. That same look in her eyes she remembered that would become apparent when she had asked about her father. Her mother's eyes had seemed to harbor something she couldn't place. And seeing it surface again sparked a current of curiosity.

"He's actually with Will and the Big Guy; something about, certain gifts that could only be found overseas. And John is their transportation."

Again Ashley's heart melted with realizing the efforts and distances they were willing to travel just on her behalf.

"Jeez, really, just a hug would be the greatest gift I could ask for."

"I can believe that," Helen answered with a weary smile.

"What time is it?" Ashley yawned the words as she eyed the return of the blue sling wrapped around her arm.

"It's just after noon; you've been sleeping for about 5 hours or so. And," she gently took her left hand and raised it to reach to the back of her head. "Do you feel that?"

Ashley ran her fingers along the bottom of her head. "Whoa," came the blunt reply.

Helen raised her eyebrows. "Yes, indeed. You said you thought you hit your head. You must have nicked the hard wood of the shelf as you fell."

"Oh, so that explains why I was down for the count," Ashley said quietly as she ran her fingers feeling the soft bump at the base of her skull. She smiled back up at her mom sighing. "I was wondering what an ice pack was doing on my pillow."

Helen laughed at her daughter's observation as she reached and took the damp ice pack from her.

"The swelling has gone down so that's good. Just another battle scar as Henry put it."

"Yeah, how is he doing?"

Both Helen and Ashley glanced over at him resting peacefully in his bed.

"I gave him a sedative and some pain medication. I had to give him over two hundred stitches to patch him out right. His deepest wounds were along his shoulders but he'll be fine. He'll be groggy for a little while." She laughed softly to herself. "He wanted to get back to his lab but I told him he'd be in here just a little while longer. I worry that him moving his arms around as the handyman he is, he might rip clean the stitches. But he does get a bit squirmy while in the infirmary."

Ashley huffed, "tell me about it; he hates being in here as much as I do."

"Speaking of," Helen turned back to look at her. "I fixed the guest bedroom across the hall from my room for you. After all that's happened…"

Ashley sighed through an agreeing smile. "I understand."

"I just want you to be close."

Ashley's gaze deepened on her mothers with a million questions still scattering through her conscious mind. Helen saw that a serious expression stilled her features as if she was in deep thought. Ashley's voice came softly, almost childlike. "There is so much running through my head and I don't know how to quiet it all. And you, I've only had hours to place the world back in order and you've been doing it for over one hundred years. God I don't even know where to start?" Her tone was calm but trailed with a submissive urgency, almost agitated Helen noticed.

Helen took her hand and held it tight. "You start with the easy things first. Eating. Sleeping. It sounds pear shaped but it's true. Emotions will settle once you give it time."

_That's what Gregory told me._

Ashley leaned back against her pillows further and eyed the white straps on her blue arm sling. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around what that Magoi was talking to me about in the sublevel; when it was pretending to be Will."

"What happened?"

"It talked to me about stress triggers and stuff and how it could cause me to teleport. It was just how Gregory explained it to me."

"Actually I was speaking with Will about that after he and Henry went to see you just after midnight last night. The Magoi just took that conversation and used it as a ploy."

"God that was just so creepy…"

Ashley trailed off in thought remembering her grandfather's determination to help her. Her focus sharpened her features with the tightening of her jaw. She fought back against a quivering lip. "It's like one minute I'm in mission mode," she closed her eyes thinking of the Magoi," and next I feel like I'm an emotional basket case about to explode."

Helen gently rubbed at her arm. "I know. I can understand that; more so now. I still feel in shock myself. Every time I see you look at me. Every time you speak. But in a way it feels like you never left me." Helen's blue eyes darkened but kept her voice soft and easy. "Days after you teleported, I held a service for you. But the whole time everything inside me was telling me you were still alive. I couldn't place it. I couldn't understand it. But all I know was that it held truth."

"I am sorry you had to go through that," Ashley sighed keeping her eyes on her sling. "If I had just, stayed home that day none of this would have ever—"

Helen cut her off with a shaking of her head and raised eyebrows but kept her tone calm. "What did I tell you? You are not to blame."

"I know mom but…"

"No. What has been done, has been done. You are in my life again and yes, things will be hard on both of us as we come to terms. But I have had to live with the blame for lifetimes and I know what that will do to you. I never let on how much your loss hurt me, how much it broke my heart, and I don't want you constantly feeling responsible."

"Sorry," she regretted as a solemn look befell her face tilting her head back up to face her. "I forget you had to live those years all over again."

Helen brushed back her hair again along her forehead. "You have no reason to be sorry. Those years were precious for they gave me a second chance to save you—to make right the biggest mistake of my life in letting you leave that day."

"I just feel sick about it all. Every…" Ashley took another deep breath and Helen could feel her hand shaking in her hold. Ashley tried to say something but her words fell short between a muttered sigh. Ashley felt her anger boiling to the surface with scattered order less memories. And faces. Faces of Dana Whitcomb and Dr. York. A water tank and room with a secured electrical flooring base. She felt as if her emotions could shoot her through the roof into the sky like a rocket.

"It's alright," voiced Helen as she scooted closer to her bringing up her leg to bend and rest on the bed. She shifted her weight so she could balance on her left hand that was planted along Ashley's right side. "Ashley, sweetheart, you don't have to be afraid to talk to me," came the soft British lilt.

Helen sat there and watched as her daughter's mind swam through the deep currents of memory. As did she. The last memory she ever saw of her daughter was ingrained without a smile or a goodbye, just a mother's pleading word that she cried from desperation.

Ashley looked away for a brief moment then turned back, her blue eyes dark as her pupils widened with the fear of what she was feeling.

"It's just that, every time I close my eyes, I see you. I see you on the floor and it's only a confused memory—a few vague images that I can't put in order." Helen watched as Ashley would look at her, look away, eyes darting in memories she was trying to piece together. "I just know that my last ever memory was when your voice was becoming louder and louder; your words becoming clearer as your voice became stronger. Then I sensed you were in danger. And I remembered I was changed."

Warm fragile tears streamed down her bruised face as Helen listened to her daughter's painful contemplations.

"I was so angry! I grabbed hold of that girl and put a death grip to her wrist. I knew you would have the EM Shield up to protect the Sanctuary. And I knew that any second I was at risk for losing control again. So I did the only thing I could…"

Quiet.

Henry grumbled something incoherent under his sleepy breaths then fell back into sedated slumber.

Helen held strong to her tightly clenched fist and watched silently as Ashley closed her eyes. "I don't even know how I got through the EM Shield in the first place."

"Ashley, look at me."

Ashley slowly glanced back up at her taking in her worried expression.

"When Will and I were on the balcony waiting for word of the Cabal's intrusion, his cell rang. The Cabal had sent a programmed radio signal through his phone's reception to hack our firewalls and disengage the EM Shield."

"But then, how did I teleport through the field when I jumped back to the Sanctuary in 2010?"

"My father believed the Cerellium element that transposed itself to your teleporting gene sequences must have opened a hole within the EM Shield; a sort of osmosis effect that counterbalanced its properties allowing your flare so to speak to get through. Much like how a rotating frequency can electrically interact with radio signals and satellites to disrupt them."

"Satellites?"

"Yes, that is another thing I wanted to talk to you about. We later learned how the Cabal was controlling you and the other Abnormals."

Ashley was quite for a moment.

"That is how I knew there was a good chance you would not harm my father."

"How?"

"I theorized that without the control of the Cabal's Network link from satellites, you would no longer be under their control and just left with the now dominant Sanguine genes. And Hollow Earth and my father would be the greatest of safe havens for you and so the year in which I decided to send you. The resources my father could draw on being a resident of Praxis would far outweigh my abilities here to help you as we were unaware of what all the Cabal had done."

"So that's how they kept me on a string. Like some sick murderous puppet."

Quiet.

Ashley thought back to Gregory and remembered a flash of his face, like an image that whirled within her last teleport.

"I also need to tell you something else."

Helen reached over to wipe the tears from under her eyes, "just tell me baby," she said gently.

"I thought of Gregory as I teleported. I kinda saw his face flash in my thoughts. I still can't understand it. I felt like I needed to find a safe place to go to, but I also knew that teleporting through the EM Shield would kill me."

Helen felt her heart thud louder in her chest.

"Dear god it must have worked as well," came the surprise of the realization. "Remember how I told you I tried to upload images and digital voice messages that were programmed to engage and activate when the EM Shield rebooted? That these would be combined along with the Hollow Earth's band width?"

"Uh huh." Her reply looking slightly confused. So Helen made another go around to make sure she fully understood her plan.

"Okay, when you teleported…" she raised her eyes to make sure Ashley was following her. Ashley nodded slowly. "…when you teleported the computer protocols I had Nikola upload into the EM Server were designed to scan for your exact electromagnetic signature the very moment you teleported. It then would combine it with a slow wave radio signal that was directed to Praxis and nearest to Gregory's residence as I could calculate. Now, the Carentan device that was connected to the EM Shield Core created a time dilation bubble that cascaded over the whole of the EM Shield itself. Your EM signature then combined with the Hollow Earth radio signal, thanks to Nikola's genius, as a time rift opened to the year 2011 in the EM Shield. Once the rift opened to that time, which took less than a nanosecond, the directed radio wave carried your atoms to the desired coordinates. The image of Gregory, and my digital voice recording of it being a safe place to fall per se, must have worked. It was an attempt of reassurance of sorts."

Ashley's blue eyes were wide. Very wide. She had heard this explanation before but the shock of events hadn't let her fully process it until now.

"But I didn't hear your voice," she squinted her eyes in thought. "It was just a feeling that it was a safe place."

"Maybe it turned into a subconscious thought as a side effect of sorts."

"God, mom…" Ashley groaned in a soft cry from the memories of her grandfather. Slowly their feelings were being lured from the surface of both their hearts. Helen watched with a heavy soul as Ashley spoke of her father, watching her lips trembling with every word. "Gregory was so good to me. He was so gentle and kind. He would tell me all of what he was doing and show me the scans on his devices. He wanted so much to find out what that dark fluid was that was eating away at my Sanguine cells. He, he tried so hard to figure it out."

"I know sweetheart. And we'll keeping searching for answers."

Ashley continued to talk as her mind returned to her brief stay in the wondrous city of Praxis. "Before I left to leave the city he wanted me to tell you that he was so proud of you. That he always was even though he had chosen to stay there in the city." Her voice became more shaky as did Helen's tone.

"He did it to keep me safe, from my enemies. He made the decision out of love."

"I know but it's not fair!" Ashley's voice pitched with her frustration. "The Cabal and that mad man that you followed into the past didn't have the right to do what they did."

"You are right honey. They didn't. I am sorry but that is the world we live in. Tragedies happen every day. And sadly they also happen to good people. We just have to learn to live with the happy moments that we shared. As hard as it is to remember."

Ashley eyed her cautiously as her mother's blue eyes blinked against a watery wave from her words. "Is that how you would remember me?"

Helen closed her eyes and sat still for a few moments. Ashley watched her lower her head and when she did she squeezed her hand. Helen then slowly raised her head back up and she was met with a tear filled face. "I tried my best to sweetheart."

Ashley nodded quietly.

"But it was hardest because every room, every hallway, every corner of the Sanctuary held a memory of you. I would imagine when you were little, when I would bring you up into my arms to go visit Sally—and your little voice squealing to, 'go see the Fish Lady'. Every time I walked into an elevator there you were with me."

Ashley huffed a snort of a laugh through her tears. She remembered how she would call Sally, Miss Fish Lady.

"I would remember how you and the Big Guy would make snowmen in the winter in the lawn and how when you were a teenager you and Henry would paint my yard like a rainbow with your paint ball wars."

Ashley let her mind's eye return to her back in time teleport into the Mausoleum and seeing the Big Guys stone coffer in the very place she would conduct her recon of the yard through its window.

"Your beautiful smiles, your heartfelt laughter—these memories of you were all frozen inside these walls. And every day I was reminded of them."

"But being in my office study was one of the hardest. Nearly four winters passed without you nestled on the sofa sleeping curled up in a blanket or reading a book comforted by a warm fire. I would look up from my work desk to see an empty sofa, and you weren't there."

Helen lowered her head again and let herself feel that pain for a few moments then blinked through tears again to look at her. "Death is something I have faced all my life. So many times. And each one is different as some die in automobile accidents, random tragedies, and through sickness. But to see your own child suffering, then watch them leave you so quickly…"

Helen paused, closed her eyes and tried to find the right words to express her feelings. When she found them she looked back to her daughter.

"In a moments time, a mere blink of the eye —you were gone."

Ashley cried harder.

"But," Helen whimpered heavily, "that doesn't matter anymore. You are my miracle, and I promise for all eternity to remind you how much I love you every day," she cried.

Ashley leaned forward into her mother's arms.

Helen held her tight as a brazen smile filled her heart with its overwhelming warmth, "I love you."

They were three simple words.

For light would fill each start of days and end of nights.

Darkness was but a page from Helen's life that had been rewritten.

And its truth meant all the world to Helen Magnus.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

_London, England 1888_—

Thick fog rolled in along the harbor port from The Thames swallowing Helen Magnus with its vapory mist.

She was walking quickly. So quickly she nearly tripped on the bottom of her dark blue dress and black long cloak. There was a full moon illuminating the dark cloudless night pouring bright silvery light down around her. The mist glowed like a dim candle and was brightened by her burning oil lantern she was carrying. She held the lantern at shoulders height while walking between the tall wooden crates stacked in columns alongside a tall warehouse at London's main water front port.

An unnerving contented smile painted her face with joy. She was happy. So bloody happy. Her sentiment was a new emotion she had never experienced before.

But there was danger.

Danger that she felt was always hiding in dark corners. A danger that could teleport anywhere she'd try to hide.

For innocent woman had been dying on the streets—and John had suddenly changed.

It was instantaneously; with threats directed at her—her life. She believed that the teleporting had taken its toll in the last two years and had driven John mad.

But tonight she tried not to think of that.

Tonight she buried its worry with her immense happiness.

As Helen made her way through the misty London port she pulled the hooded cloak over her head to cover more of her blonde hair she had pulled back into a bun. She tugged at its black colored rim to keep the harbor's cold wind from stinging the fair skin of her face. Her eyes constantly blinked away the dew-like mist that wet her eyelids.

She continued to walk swiftly looking deep into the moonlit vapor searching for the dock man she was enquiring to locate.

She kept her left arm wrapped close to her chest pulling her cloak to shun the wind away from her body. She had known something wonderful for the past month, a little over a month to be in fact and now she was sure.

Without a doubt.

She was pregnant.

She hadn't told a soul yet. It was her secret.

And soon her plan would unravel to keep innocent her little unborn angel until a day she felt it safe to finally bring her into the world…

* * *

><p>Henry's scruffy face crisscrossed with scratched abrasions along the brow of his nose and arched in a moon-like curve around his right temple. Ashley stared at his soft skin and short sprouting facial hair growing along his jawline and around his mouth. His hair she noticed was shorter. She liked it. Made him look older. And he did look older. Just a little. His face was still thin but had a sharper angled jaw and his muscle tone was more than before.<p>

"Been working out on me I see," she huffed quietly looking at him from her view resting her head on her forearms. Her chair was close to the bed and she slumped close beside him alongside the edge of the mattress. It was strange she thought, to have a memory of him, of how he was, and then look at him knowing time had changed and he had aged a few more years.

"You know," Ashley sighed as she tilted to rest her head sideways on her forearms like a pillow, "I expected nothing less. I knew you would keep up with the boxing and cardio and whatever else you do to keep in mission shape. God knows I worked your butt off in our training sessions."

Ashley released her left hand and pulled his blanket up over his chest from his waistband. "There you go; it's kinda chilly in here."

She returned her head to her forearms and closed her eyes as she thought. "I guess it sucked not having me around…" she sighed again. "For me it's been just a couple of days in Praxis and for you, like 3 years."

She opened her eyes again with a fleeting curious smile.

"I bet you've created some kickass inventions too. I remember that Nubbin vacuum cleaner you made. Seriously dude, it looked like a cross between Lost in Space's robot and some Jules Verne ginormous coffee machine. But hey, it worked didn't it. Much better than my approach. Heck, I had a pole with a circle loop at the end. Doesn't quite work when what you're chasing is a round furry ball." She laughed quietly to herself.

Henry grumbled something in his sleep and moved his head to face her though his eyes were closed.

She watched his face relax from his inner sleeping thoughts and slowly leaned up to kiss his cheek. Then she reclined back to slump into her chair.

She laughed quietly to herself as an old memory surfaced, "Oh man, do you remember when we first met Squid. Mom told us to meet some guy on Dead Bridge with some intel we needed on an Abnormal and she failed to tell us he was an Abnormal himself. You nearly crashed us on my motorcycle when we got back to the front gate we were laughing so hard. What was it," she thought, "what did I say he looked like…"

Henry opened his blue eyes slowly, blinked a few times, and then sighed through a raspy mumble. Ashley glanced up at him still grinning in thought.

Henry cleared his throat, "you said; he looked like Hulk Hogan part worm." Then his thin lips lined in a grin. Widely.

Man giggles and laughter erupted between them.

Just like old times.

Three years had passed but it was like they just picked up from where they left.

"Hi," he whispered in his sleepy tongue after he finally caught his breath. He could see she'd been crying. Her eyes were bloodshot and a still a bit watery.

"Hey'a Henry," she smiled warmly.

"Hug," he motioned as he tilted his head forward.

"Don't move your arms too much," she said quietly, "doctor's orders." Ashley carefully kissed his forehead with a lean and kept her face against his for a few moments.

"I've missed you Ash," he rasped quietly in her ear.

"I know." She planted a soft kiss to cheek before she leaned back.

"What a day," he admitted as his eyes searched her tired expression.

It had been three years of living without his best friend. And now she was inches from his face.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," she said as she climbed up to sit next to him. He moved his bandaged legs to the side so she would have more room as she folded her legs indian-style and settled next to his knees.

"You okay," he asked low as he lifted his hand to place over hers. But what he really wanted to do was pick her up into a hug and spin her around the room.

Ashley saw the deep concern in his face and the soft look in his eyes. "Yeah, it's just tough you know. You guys haven't seen me in so long. I can't even begin to imagine how that was for everyone. And for me, it's just been a few hours and a few days in Praxis."

"We understand," he squeezed her hand. "Magnus told us everything that's happened to you. And we'll help you adjust. We all will." He nodded and flashed a smile. "It's going to be okay."

"I know."

Henry watched as she looked down letting her thoughts disappear into her mind.

"Hey, don't let them win."

Ashley shot her eyes to face him again. "I won't."

"Damn straight you won't," his voice deepened so his words were taken more seriously and to the heart. He was making sure she was listening.

He took a quick breath keeping his tone as calm as he could without losing his control on his emotions. "Your mom did something unbelievable; something so amazing that we all still can't wrap our heads around it. And every day you live your life is defying what the Cabal tried to take away from us—away from you. Got it?"

His words fired something inside her.

Sparking to life a small part of her inner spirit.

"Copy that Gumby." She whispered through a frail smile.

"Now," he patted her hand to comfort his change of subject realizing she must have had a similar conversation with Helen, "where's your mom?"

Ashley noticed a piece of white tape that had curled up on his shoulder edging up from a gauze pad; she pressed the corner gently back to his bare skin. "She said she was going to bring up some lunch. I told her I would watch you. That was like twenty minutes ago."

"Good, I'm starved." He smiled.

She studied his face more intensely then smiled back. "You look good."

"You too." Henry noticed that she was a bit pale, more obvious with the lack of a long good night's rest. But otherwise it was comforting to at last see blue eyes again. Blue eyes without the distractions of an Abnormal hunt.

"Well I could use another shower. Got attacked by aquarium water," she joked.

Henry snorted a laugh, "Could use a shower myself. Guess Magnus wants me to stay in here for a little while."

"Yep, you know the drill."

A sound of footsteps sounded as Helen walked through the open infirmary door with a tray of sandwiches and fruit.

"I thought I heard voices." Helen was smiling to find her daughter sitting with Henry. She had always loved him as a son and was happy Ashley had someone close in age she could grow up with—who she could relate with in a world of beings that go bump in the night.

The picture of them sitting there would be etched in her mind forever.

Like every one after.

"How about some lunch?"

"Mmm," came the unified answer.

Helen walked over to the side of Henry's bed and sat the silver tray of food in front of Ashley. "Turkey clubs," she said as she gave a gentle rub to Ashley's back before she sat down in the empty chair.

"Henry how are you feeling," Helen asked as she reached for a sandwich.

"Honestly not too bad; just a little groggy."

"That's the pain meds. You'll feel it tomorrow though."

"Mmm hm," he hummed as he chewed a large morsel of his turkey club sandwich.

"So," Ashley said with a mouth full of food, "when is the crew getting back?"

"Probably sometime late tonight. It's around 5 o'clock there time. I have an acquaintance that lives in England that owns a restaurant. The boys plan on eating there tonight."

Ashley nodded.

The boys only felt it the right thing to do to have Helen have some time with Ashley without them around. She had told them they need not feel discounted but John told her of his plans and so the decision was unanimous to go trot off overseas to carry out Ashley's little surprise.

"Is Declan still working in England?"

"Yes. In fact he was the one who helped oust Terrence Wexford. We had a bit of a scuff last year involving Big Bertha."

"Oh," Ashley griped in annoyance. "That man was sooo annoying. I never liked that lizard face from the moment I first met him."

"Yeah, Ash, you missed a moment that could've gone down in Sanctuary history."

"Do explain," she begged.

"Long story short, we lost control of Big Bertha," he mumbled as he licked his lips, "big mess off the coast of Mumbai. Trust got flip flopped in the Sanctuary Network and he was voted in as Head. Man, when I was giving him my two sense about his recklessness aboard the vessel, he spat at me." Henry flashed a surprised expression.

"Spat at you?"

"Seriously Ash, it was like a scene straight out of Jurassic park."

Ashley laughed out loud, "Dude I would have paid big money to see that."

"I would have too," Helen winked to Henry.

"But Declan helped get Magnus reinstated."

"Big Bertha? Terrence drama? What else did I miss," she innocently chimed knowing she had three years to catch up on.

"Ah, we have a new Salamander. It's gigantic. 400 lbs. Black with red tiger stripes!"

Ashley's blue eyes widened. "No way."

"Yes way. We gotta check her out later. You'll love it. I even gave her a name..."

"I'm afraid to ask," smiled Ashley as she took another bite of her club.

Henry paused for suspense. Then he whispered for added dramatic effect, "…tiny."

Ashley huffed silently and rolled her eyes in hysteria.

As Helen listened to their sibling banter she also found herself in her own memories. Memories that seemed to have always been just a blink of the eye from the days of yesterday…

* * *

><p>Flashback<p>

Helen heard the running footfalls on the hardwood. She knew it was Ashley by the quick timing of the footsteps as Henry's were heavier and paced differently.

Blonde hair whirled into her study as she panted to a stop; her eyes looking around the whole of the room. Helen looked up to see her four year old daughter wearing an old World War I helmet; both of her hands intertwined with the kitchen broom.

She was wearing a big oversized camouflage shirt and pink Nike tennis shoes.

Helen stopped writing in the file that was on her desk and looked up with curious eyes. She huffed a laugh. "Ashley? What on earth are you doing love?"

The grayish green metal helmet slunk and shifted down over her eyes. Ashley lifted her chin up so it would slip back over her head so she could see. "Me and Henry are playing war. See my big gun." She held the broom like a soldier on guard with it across her shoulder.

Henry was always teaching Ashley gun protocols. Perhaps James was teaching him this for she couldn't figure out where he'd learned all that he did.

"And what did I tell you about running in the house young lady?"

The helmet slid back over her eyes.

"Umph," Ashley groaned in annoyance.

Ashley raised her chin again so the helmet would fall back away from her eyes. And from over half her face.

Helen had to admit. Ashley looked adorable in the helmet with her blonde pig tail braids. The helmet was most obviously much larger than her small head as the buckled chin strap hung low and loose around her neck.

Before Ashley could answer her attention was disrupted by a blur of Biggie passing by the open door—and atop his head an extravagant colored Indian feathered headdress while riding a gigantic large wheeled 1900's bicycle.

In the house.

He was supposed to be re-cataloging her early 20th century items with help from Henry and Ashley.

Not ride them.

"Dear god. I'm running a circus."

"But me and Henry are chasing Uncle Biggie?" She proudly stated. Ashley then grunted again as the war wear sunk back down over her blue eyes.

"And do you know what Biggie's Indian name is," came the high pitched echoing voice from underneath the metal helmet.

Helen raised the medical file to hide her laughter. She couldn't be mad? No she couldn't. She had always deemed herself dignified with British character, but she realized at times everyone needed to let their hair down so to speak; and why not at home.

She hid her face only allowing her blue eyes to peer over the vanilla folder. She was giggling so hard she couldn't even answer.

Ashley tapped the handle end of the kitchen broom to tap twice on the wood floor to announce his grand name. "He is Chief Bigfoot of Oxford."

Helen dropped the file folder and let her head fall into her hands as she buried her hysteria to the tabletop.

Another set of footsteps ran past the open doorway as Henry in his big cowboy hat pursued the escaped Indian. "Bang bang bang…"

"Missed me," came the laughing roar from the escaped prisoner as he rounded the corner on his 'train'.

When beast and machine disappeared around the corner two squawks of a honk sounded from his handlebar horn.

"Ash," Henry called out, "Come on, the prisoner has escaped!"

How could Helen reprimand her own children from running in their home when a crazed yeti was pedaling for his life?

When Helen finally regained her wits she lifted her head to find her daughter standing at the edge of her table.

On her tippy toes.

Staring through her big blue eyes.

"I love you mommy."

Helen got up from her chair, straightened out her black sleeveless dress and walked around the bureau watching as Ashley put her broom into the red leather chair.

Ashley reached up her little arms and ran to meet Helen before she had even made it around the corner of the table. Helen picked her up as she began her laughing fit again as she gently pushed the helmet back from over Ashley's hidden eyes.

"Let's say you and I make a plan to capture this Chief Oxford hmm?"

Ashley leaned her little head back to look at Helen so the helmet would stay clear of her vision.

"You want to play with us."

"Yes ma'am, now let's go capture the Indian shall we," she laughed as she kissed her cheek.

Ashley just opened her mouth in surprise.

Then she wrinkled her nose as she thought. "How?"

Loud rumbling laughter erupted again from somewhere down the hallway.

"Leave that to me love. Now go join Henry, I'll be there shortly." Helen continued as she lowered Ashley back down.

Ashley grabbed her broom gun and ran out of the study with her chin up, and helmet slinking back. Small footsteps echoed down the hallway as she went to join Sheriff Foss.

Helen walked over to grab her white scarf from behind her chair then walked over to her tall wooden book shelve. She reached up for a pair of flight goggles that had been placed next to a picture of her and Amelia Earhart.

"You are trapped ha ha ha!" Henry had his little plastic six shooter pointed at the massive, very tall Indian Chief.

The Big Guy had parked his train in front of a large open window. The afternoon sun shined in lighting most of the hallway around them.

With hands up in the air, and his headdress of colored feathers shifting with his every movement; Biggie made his last stand.

"Surrender, surrender," ordered Ashley with a point of her broom.

"Yes you must," came the British voice.

Ashley turned around and squealed when she saw Helen with her scarf around her neck and pilot goggles strapped around her eyes.

_Good lord_, Helen thought, _if James could only see me now._

"Your majesty," bowed Biggie.

Helen bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh out loud at that one.

"Gentlemen, and lady," she said giving a wink to Ashley as she fashionably tossed back a corner of her scarf. "I propose a truce."

"What's a truce?" Henry asked fiddling with his golden star Sheriff badge on his black and white striped shirt.

"It is when both sides surrender peacefully."

Ashley's helmet fell back down over her eyes.

"And if we comply we shall be rewarded with a grand feast at Alfredo's."

"Alfredo's," came the trio of answers.

"Yippy!" Henry jumped up in place and holstered his gun.

"I agree to your terms Queen of England," scruffed Biggie.

"Me too," came the voice underneath the helmet.

"Then it is settled. Now let's prepare to return things to an orderly state and get ready for dinner shall we?"

And with that the Queen and her little soldier, the Sheriff and the Indian made haste in cleaning up for supper.

* * *

><p>…Helen continued walking quickly through the midnight fog nearer to a tall shipping vessel that was docked at the harbor.<p>

"Miss Magnus?" A young voice called from behind a crate.

"Yes, I am Helen Magnus," she greeted.

"Good evening Miss. I was waiting here just as you requested."

A young man, early twenties, wearing a grey wool hat and large black full length wool coat stood leaning against a wooden crate holding a piece of noted paper and a small lantern.

Helen raised her light to see him clearer twisting the fog into swirls around her face.

"My boat master said you would be here and that I be advised to give you the contents you requisitioned."

"Yes, thank you," she said taking the note from the man. She read the invoice making sure her purchases were correct as loud echoes swept over London from Big Ben's clock tower.

He walked behind the crate he was resting on and pulled out a package about the size of a produce crate.

"Do you need any assistance with the package my lady?"

"Yes, that would be quite appreciated. Please follow me."

The man followed Helen through a maze of wooden crates and various shipping containers until they arrived at a horse drawn carriage at the open iron gates of the port.

"Please place the package inside my cabin," instructed Helen.

"Yes ma'am."

After he had done so she gave him a smile and a little money for his assistance then stepped up into her carriage and departed the port dock.

Helen watched as the street poles twinkled with gold light shining onto the bricked steps of the homes and businesses lining the road. The fog continued to roll into the city blanketing its watery mist in the cold night air. The horse shoes tapped loudly in soft trot with the low voice of the carriage master droning his commands to the two black horses.

Helen leaned her head back to the cabin's wall as she pulled the hoody free from around her head.

A bump of the carriage swung the hanging lantern to clank against the wooded wall to her right. Helen watched as the light waves swung with the movement of the lantern.

She sat quietly and tugged at her blue dress to flatten out the wrinkles along her knees. She gently pressed the fabric with her thumbs and watched it wrinkle back in place each time she rolled her fingers along the folded lines. A few dark wet tiny imprints blotted a miniscule portion of her dress from her tears. She pressed her hand to her stomach gently and spoke softly to her unborn child—soothing assurances that one day she would be out of harm's way when she finally believed John was gone for good.

Yes she was scared but she had always wanted children and now she was pregnant with a child that she would do everything in her power to protect.

Helen deemed it was the safest thing to do. And she had found a way through means of the changes brought on by the miraculous effects of the Source Blood. A discovery she still held secret from James.

Only time would reveal the day in which she would choose to bring her child into the world—a time that she would wield by her control with every swing of its pendulum.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Helen held her breath—keeping the nervousness buried as best she could.

With intense focus her blue eyes squinted against the waving light from the oil lanterns and burning wax candles. She sat quietly, at a large rectangular cherry wood table centered in the stone basement of her home—her heart and soul still exhilarated from her discovery nearly six months ago. She peered through the lenses of the microscope at the minute red and white blood cells free floating through the miracle that was to keep her unborn child alive for nearly a century.

"Helen," called a voice from the closed door behind her. Helen knew it was James. She had sent a mail carrier with a telegram requesting his presence this evening. A week after she picked up her package from the London harbor port. Gregory looked up from his parchment paper and put the writing quill pen back into the glass ink jar. He gently picked up the piece of paper and blew its surface to help dry the ink. After placing it down atop a medical book he leaned back in his wooden chair and stared at his daughter. He watched her proudly as she rolled the focusing knob between her fingers to examine the microscope slide again.

"Are you sure you want to tell him my dear?"

"Yes, father," she looked up meeting his eyes. "This was my decision. He is one of my closest friends. It is only out of respect and trust that I feel he should be told of the choice I have made."

"I understand." He smiled knowing he could never have refused her need for help—help that would keep her child safe by walking the fine line of a medical wonder.

He was a medical doctor that was working within the fringes of a science that was secret and hidden from the world. Gregory Magnus' work was orchestrated and carried out by means of his daughter's assistance as he tutored her the wonders of its scientific theories, procedures, results, and most importantly—of its humanity. The advancements, his advancements, in medical tooling, surgery, and researching understandings were the most advanced of their time.

A hidden art per se.

And so it led to his careful aid in helping Helen put in motion the earliest beginnings of a miracle that will one day be her daughter.

* * *

><p>Ashley yawned with a full stomach while attempting to stretch her arm at the elbow in her blue sling. She had been irritated having to wear it. She liked the free movement of being able to totally be on guard at any given moment. For Sanctuary life demanded that she always be on her toes and ready to fight and defend.<p>

Being slightly immobilized really pissed her off.

But hopefully she thought, the worst was behind her. After all; she had survived an attack by the Magoi, exploding weapon's fire from the fall of Bhalasaam, and the explosion from within the city of Praxis. Not to mention being kidnapped by the Cabal and forced to destroy her mother's Sanctuaries. It was a wonder she even remembered her name.

Henry watched as Ashley's tired eyes blinked heavily against her strain to keep her eyelids open. "Hey Ash why don't you get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

Helen also had picked up on her exhaustion. It had been a long few hours.

A long three years.

A long secluded life…

And for Ashley, the teleporting itself takes a fair amount of energy.

Random or not.

"Yeah I think I will go lay down for a bit."

All Ashley wanted to do was take a hot shower and snuggle up in big warm bed and close her mind to the world.

"I think that's a good idea," agreed Helen in a nod as she patted Ashley on her knee. "I put most of your clothes into the closet and drawers for you."

"Thanks mom," she yawned again as she closed her eyes. It warmed her heart but made her sad at the same time to know that everything she had ever owned had been tucked away neatly in boxes and not thrown away completely.

Ashley looked back to Henry. "We'll talk later okay."

"Count on it."

Ashley stepped down off the bed and leaned down wrapping her arms around him. He gently raised his arms to hold her. He pulled her closer as tears escaped his eyes, not wanting to let her leave his reach.

"I love you Gumby," she whispered.

Man giggles shook his torso.

"Love you Xena."

Ashley snorted a tired laugh.

"Alright, I'll see ya later."

"Okay."

"Henry if you need anything you have the walkie and phone alright," Helen reminded him as she stood from her chair.

"Copy that Doc. I'm just gonna sleep for a bit."

"I would advise that," Helen concluded with a warm smile.

Ashley gave a wave and a wink to Henry and followed her mother through the open infirmary door.

Henry observed them as the walked out of the room and couldn't help but watch them through a sea of happy tears.

"Welcome home Ash," he whispered to the now empty room.

Stepping out into the hallway Helen wrapped an arm around Ashley's waist pulling her close. Ashley smiled and leaned her head into her mother's shoulder and continued to walk in step with her.

They walked quietly down the hallway to the elevator as Ashley yawned a few more times. Helen could tell she was deep in thought. Ashley had always been outspoken about anything and everything. But again, holding in her emotions was not a completely uncommon thing with her daughter. And Helen knew she couldn't possible understand all that she had experienced. And because of that she tried to constantly remind herself that both of them had been through a hellish nightmare. One that has now resulted in a wakened dream too wonderful for words.

But Helen also didn't want to push her daughter emotionally. She remembered in Rome when Ashley had finally learned the truth about her father. The plane ride back had been silent. No words were spoken at all. Later when she tried to get her to speak to her about it Ashley revealed that she understood why she had kept it a secret. So in a small way, she knew she was able to see past the surface of life's trials and rise above it.

Eventually—

And she had no doubt in time, they both would. They had admitted their feelings from her disappearance which was more than she could ever ask for so soon.

Helen stepped away from Ashley but tapped at her elbow gently getting her attention as they reached the front entrance of the elevator.

"You feeling alright," Helen asked as she pressed the elevator button. She had noticed that Ashley had dropped a shade of pale just in the last few minutes. And it was starting to worry her.

"Yeah." Ashley's words were distant, with almost a false sense of candid weighting them.

Helen watched Ashley tug at the straps of her sling, eyes blinking heavily with a slight grimace contorting her face.

"Is your shoulder bothering you," Helen asked.

Ashley smirked with a nose wrinkle. "No I'm fine. Just remind me to have a word with Declan next time I see him."

"I shall," Helen chimed, keeping a smile.

The elevator door opened with a loud sliding creak of metal grating.

Ashley shuddered to a halt.

She curled her fingers tightly around her white sling strap and lost herself in hesitation. She could feel her heart begin to race; the thudding filling her chest like a drum as a memory flashed of Will taking aim at her in the Canadian Warehouse—then firing two rounds into her shoulders.

Ashley stood completely still staring off into space. She remembered the burn of the bullet piercing her flesh, then a second.

And lastly; raising her left arm in a readying hold to strike as she countered closer to her mother.

Helen pressed the third level button as she glanced back at Ashley. Ashley's blue eyes were wide with an expression tight jawed with the grinding of her teeth.

She looked angry.

Helen was hit with a wave of worry and stepped forward quickly placing her hands gently on her shoulders. "Ashley," she whispered in concern. Her soft calm voice was ignored. Helen lowered her head to level with Ashley's eye line and softly squeezed at her shoulders this time. Her daughter's light blue eyes darkened with horror through the enlarging of her pupils.

"Ashley, what's the matter," she called out a little louder feeling her stomach twist into a nervous knot.

Ashley still refused to respond.

Helen shook her shoulders this time and felt the tension and stiffness that kept her body rigid from reflexing. She could hear her breaths becoming more labored; heavy.

"Ashley, listen to me, we're going to sit you down alright?" Helen carefully pushed her backwards to try and force her to walk back. Ashley took one step back, without blinking, without any acknowledgement. Helen could see the artery in the side of Ashley's neck pulsing rapidly and Helen's only guess was that she was lost in some memory.

Ashley parted her lips slowly as if she was trying to say something.

Helen could feel the worry creeping through her trembling hands as she took her right hand and tapped firmly along her jawline. A soft slapping sounded as skin tapped skin. "Ashley?"

Still no response.

Helen gripped her shoulders tighter forcing her back so she could try to get her to sit down along the wall of the hallway next to a side table. "Okay…alright," she whispered searching her eyes for recognition of her surroundings, "I need for you to sit down sweetheart; let's sit down for a minute?"

Ashley felt a strong grip to her shoulders. Not painfully tight but strong enough she felt like she wasn't able to pull away if she stepped away. A voice was talking to her but it was echoing; without coherence. An auditory memory drummed in her psyche loudly as if she heard the words spoken inches from her face. The voice sickened her.

"_Look at you…"_

It was the voice of the short, red haired Cabal scientist.

"NO!" Ashley gasped in a frown stumbling back into the cream plastered wall losing Helen's steady grip on her. "DON'T TOUCH ME," she screamed as her eyes glared wildly in deep anger. She slid down back against the wall crumbling hard onto the floor. Ashley raised her left arm to cover her face as she yelled.

"Let me go!"

It was a gut wrenching plead of a cry that sent icy waves down Helen's spine. Helen stepped back hands waved out to her side. "No one's going to hurt you," she comforted in shear panic. She stepped forward again, slowly, watching as Ashley groaned her words as he curled into the fetal position.

"Get away from me!"

"Oh god…" Helen cried. She took another slow step forward and quickly knelt down placing a hand onto her back. "You're safe! You're home…" she desperately tried to reassure her. Ashley twisted up awkwardly in defiance of her gesture; face flushed with tears through gritted teeth. She pawed a grab at her mother fisting a handful of white scrub along her left sleeve. The movement was more like a swipe resembling Tesla's when he was fully vamped. Helen grabbed at her left wrist with her left hand, trying to pry away the tight grip. "It's me, it's me," she soothed to Ashley. "Everything's alright, it's okay."

"Doc!"

Henry came running from around the corner of the hallway.

"I could hear you. Sounded like you were in trouble." Even when Henry wasn't in full HAP mode his senses were still just as strong. Leaving him with an advantage to his environment.

"Something's wrong." Helen yelled through a worried breath. She was trying to keep her from literally lunging into her face. And she was strong. But Helen stood her ground in keeping her down without being overly forceful.

Henry ran over and took a crouch down beside them. "What do I do," he asked in a heavy pant.

"Help me sit her up," she instructed. "Ashley, its momma sweetheart, we're just going to sit you up okay," she stated calmly. Ashley continued to yank at Helen's sleeve.

Henry reached out to hold Ashley from around her waist. He gently pulled her up so she could sit along the wall. Ashley's grip slowly released from Helen's shirt but still wailed wildly in front of her reaching out to defend herself from a ghost within a memory.

Henry inched closer then wrapped his arms the rest of the way around her torso. "Ashley,…calm down." Henry said softly. He could feel her fight against him weakening fast. She began slumping forward into his hold rather than push away from him. A moment later Ashley's head tilted down into his chest. With a groan she stilled in his arms. Henry could feel Ashley's warm breaths heavy and rapid against his bare skin.

"Uh, doc," Henry said breathlessly, "is she okay?"

"I don't know," she replied as she placed her fingers to her neck checking her pulse. "Her pulse is still racing. We need to get her to the infirmary. I need to check her blood pressure."

"I got her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he huffed as he cradled her around her back and under her knees. Holding her close as he stood to his feet, he gently raised her from the floor. Helen caught Ashley's left arm before it fell slack from her body.

Henry quickly began shuffling down the hallway with Helen close at his side.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. She seemed fine. Then all of a sudden she just was standing there… in some sort of incoherent state."

"Do you think it's related to what the Cabal did to her?"

"I don't know," she said as they continued to walk down the long hallway. "I need to call John and give him the secure number for Nikola. I need him to get Nikola here to help me go over her blood tests that my father gave me on that tablet."

"You think Nikola can help?"

"I hope," she huffed. "She could have just had a panic attack and nothing more. But he is my best source of finding answers at the moment and I need him here. We still don't know what the Cabal did to her."

Helen felt her face flush red with anger at the Cabal's sick game having been played with her daughter's life.

Ashley started to twitch in Henry's arms, rolling her head from his chest. "Ah, she's waking up."

"Here," ordered Helen, "put her on the bed."

Henry rounded the bed and laid her down gently, "Ash, you're okay," he whispered low.

"I need the BP cuff," she ordered.

Henry left her side and turned from her running around another bed to get to the medical cart.

Helen laid her hands firmly on Ashley's shoulders to keep her from rolling off the bed. Ashley kicked a leg out trying to lean up from the bed; her blue eyes still lost deep in blind focus. "Ashley, everything's alright," she promised as she sat down next to her.

A red flash sparked in the infirmary disappearing both mother and daughter into a whirlwind of instantaneous teleport.

Within a bright crimson swirl they dematerialized midair falling through pitch black darkness.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The first thing Helen realized what that she was falling, through darkness—seething in a gasp of cold stale air.

She knew her legs were beneath her—since she had just been sitting on the side of the infirmary bed. Her autonomic reflexes forced her body to arch in anticipation for an impact as she felt herself tilting forward. And she feared in that split second that she would come crashing down atop Ashley. Her mind tried to process her surroundings but all she knew was that they were in free fall spiraling down almost into a tumbled spin. The transition from cool inside air to stale environment took all but a nanosecond but she knew within that time that they were somewhere different. Her hands still gripped a handful of Ashley's white scrub and shoulder. Helen had time to blink a few times before the falling came to an abrupt and blinding end.

In this moment Helen and Ashley's body fell atop something. Crashing down hard to the obstacle as their bodies collided; metal clanking echoed loudly from their off centered collision sending them plummeting to the floor.

The floor was concrete, Helen could tell beneath her palms as she rolled over to her knees immediately reaching out in the dark to feel for Ashley.

It was so dark. Pitch black dark.

No light was emitting from anywhere at all. The air had a moldy quality to it. Heavy and dreadfully damp. The smell became thick like a foul paste in Helen's throat and its chemical induced airing made her eyes water.

She could hear loud breathing close by but the echoing from the breath sounds made it hard for her to pinpoint her daughter's location.

"Ashley!"

She stilled her movement attempting to listen for any response however subtle. She listened for rustling of clothing, any noise from against the concrete. But still nothing.

"Ashley…"

No answer.

All she heard was continued deep breaths from, somewhere. Helen crawled with outstretched hands to find anything. Her knees could feel the cold concrete floor against the thin fabric of her scrub pants as she moved over its coarse surface. She would crawl forward, back and to the sides to try and work in a circular pattern.

After she circled once her hand touched down on cold metal—some kind of metal bar. Perhaps from the obstacle they had just toppled over on.

_Was it a chair?_

_A table?_

"Oh bloody hell," she growled in the darkness. She had forgotten her iPhone was in her pants pocket. She immediately pulled it out and touch screened her way to turn on the backlight putting it to the brightest mode. The small light lit up the room revealing a massively large area. Looking ahead the darkness went farther back, so far that there was no sight of a wall at all. A dark shaped figure caught her eyes as she looked ahead.

Ashley lay about six feet straight in front of her.

Helen got to her feet quickly rushing to Ashley's side. She placed the phone beside her crouched knees to light the darkness around them. The small white light glinted like a small candle allowing for a low glow to encompass the spaces around them.

"Mom," came the raspy wheeze.

"Oh thank god," Helen exhaled deeply in relief. She bent down closer and placed a hand to her shoulder.

Ashley rolled and turned away from her. "Can't… breathe."

"Alright, hold on…" Helen pushed up from her knees and stepped over her and knelt back down to face her. Ashley reached out and grabbed her mom's boot near the ankle and buried her face into the side of the shoe. Ashley's chest felt like it was closing inwards, tightening with a heavy press. She knew she had teleported out from the Sanctuary and from the damp metallic smell of the area around her; she had a good guess of where she was.

Ashley groaned and tried to roll over on her stomach but a firm hand placed to her side rolled her over onto her back.

"Ashley you're hyperventilating. We have to get you up."

"Can't…" she groaned with a grinding of her teeth.

"Yes you can," Helen urged as she slid her arms around her waist as she knelt behind her.

Helen saw that a large counter was just off to her right. Helen got one foot beneath her and pushed up into a low crouch. "I've got you," she assured her as she pulled her over the concrete to the counter.

Ashley stayed slumped in on herself as she squinted through the pain to see the room become darker as she was pulled away from the glowing backlight from the phone. A moment later she closed her eyes to the crippling anxiety leaving her senses to become encompassed by her agitated breaths.

When Helen got to the counter she let her lean against the cold metal. Ashley's body started to slump forward in a groan. "Pull your knees up," she instructed. Ashley was holding her hand to her chest trying to rub away the tightness. Ashley was only able to bring one of her legs halfway in.

"Can't…" she growled.

Helen grabbed at her ankles pushing her knees up to her chest. "Okay, there we go. Now put your head down."

Before Ashley closed her eyes to bury her face to her knees she caught site of a statue-like object to her left.

A glass enclosure was filled to the brim with water—slippery dark green algae grated along every square inch of the glass. The blackened water sat stagnant and sickly-like—a sticky web of muck insipid from time.

Memories sparked like a raging fire again one by one as they flashed across her fragile consciousness. The detailed images were short, some blurred into obscurity while others came in with deafening audible sounds and distinct voices. Two voices to be exact.

She remembered more now. She could almost order the events into some semblance of a unified timeline. Her mind's eye watched in splintered recollections as a small red haired woman walked around her as she lay paralyzed in a strapped chair. She could feel the cold IV's attached and intertwined against her skin though she fought with every ounce of her strength to free herself—anything that would give her the upper hand. She had tried to move her wrists; flex her fingers and even raise her legs, but it was all a killjoy.

At times all she could do was merely blink her eyes.

Then there was that familiar voice. The only one that had made a presence known to her other than Dana. But Dana was nowhere to be seen. And she knew she was somewhere cowering at her control center reigning as queen puppeteer of a blind and worthless cause.

And to think that this mad woman had the audacity to tell her she's fighting for the wrong side—let alone speak her mother's name.

Pain, intense with its stabbing nature brought her out from her remembrances.

Ashley continued to wheeze in pain and frustrated anger burying her head into the tops of her knees. "Ca…phaal," Ashley wheezed deeply.

"What?" Helen couldn't make out her words from the seething echo. "I didn't hear you?"

Ashley slammed her clenched fist to the concrete "Ca…bal!"

Helen froze at the word. She knew now where they were.

"Oh Ashley," she cried. She could barely see her face in the darkness but the tone carried a hidden dread. "Hang on; I'm just going to get my phone," she replied quickly.

Ashley growled another painful wheeze.

Of all places in the world to teleport to she thought; why the hell did it have to be here.

Helen picked up the phone and held it up to view the large room in better detail as she shuffled back to Ashley. The metal cabinet behind Ashley had an empty counter. Cabinet doors opened to empty cupboards and open drawers. A metal chair bolted into the concrete was lined with wrist belts and ankle holds sat parallel to Ashley by fifteen feet. To their left the room opened up to a vast space into a deeper expanding darkness. Helen slowly knelt down in front of her daughter. "I know where we are sweetheart," she said through a wave of sadness and sickened anger, "but I just need you to keep breathing for me you're doing fine. We're going to find a way to get out of here. I promise." Helen put the phone to the floor in front of her wishing that she hadn't seen the words 'No Signal' lighted in red across the screen of her iPhone.

The room was horridly musty lingering with its thick waft. Helen continued to look around it murky depths gaging a measurable recon on their surroundings. Dead quiet hung around them with only a break from Ashley's breaths and a constant fall of trickling water from a leaky distant pipe. A thunderstorm was raining down and its soft sounds were barely audio from inside the structure as outlying thunder rolled across the unseen sky. From the hard stale smell Helen believed they were in some sort of basement level.

An empty basement void of any prior human activity—for at least three years.

"Keep breathing," she advised Ashley as she scooted to kneel closer in front of her.

"Why," Ashley huffed as she reached out to grab her hand. Helen held tight and squeezed it.

"Don't try to talk, just breath slowly," whispered Helen.

Ashley took her advice. She just buried her face deeper into the tops of her knees as order less memories resurfaced with fragmented visuals across her exhausted mind.

* * *

><p>"John its Henry. I need you to listen carefully. I am about to give you a secured number to Nikola. Once he can give you his location coordinates; we need you to teleport him here…" he paused for a second, "because Ashley just had a meltdown and took Magnus with her in a teleport."<p>

A flash of red flare erupted feet from Henry's face inside the infirmary—making him literally jump backwards on his feet.

"What do you mean they teleported?" John was frightened and looking at Henry's face it could as well been like looking in a mirror.

"Ashley teleported. Magnus was holding her when she did. She was having some sort of panic attack we think."

"And how can Nikola help," questioned John as he exited the call to Henry on his phone still wearing his black winter gloves.

"It may have something to do with the results from her blood tests. She wasn't sure if it's related or not to what the Cabal did to her, but she wants him here."

John could feel rage stirring inside of him like a storm. Just how it had always been with every time he heard the word, Cabal. He nodded. "Alright," he said in a quickened rumble, "what is his number?"

* * *

><p>Helen could only assume this was some kind of testing facility. One that Ashley had been taking to under the Cabal's control.<p>

As soon as she let that idea come to her mind, she banished it away to concentrate on her daughter. She didn't want to waste anymore of her living time worrying about the things that just didn't matter anymore. For the sun had finally set on that day of misery.

"Deep breaths Ash, you're doing fine," comforted Helen as she rubbed her back with her left hand. She slid closer pressing her forehead to her daughters. "They can't hurt us anymore," she promised through a weighted, tearful smile of assurance, "we win. I saved you. I saved you…we have nothing more to fear."

This wasn't helping. Ashley was still angry feeling that surge of adrenaline rushing through her like an electric current. More memories where coming to the surface. More images, feelings, and details of her surroundings—the shiny marbled floors of the UK Sanctuary as she and her other intruders forced the guard door down from its entrance—running through a hail storm of automatic machine gunfire.

She just wanted the memories to go away.

That was all.

Every last one.

But they were buried in her subconscious and surfacing without sorted control—a chaotic slide show of the Cabal's madness through her eyes.

Ashley bit down on her lip trying to take the concentration off of her heavy chest. She tried to picture herself in a time that was peaceful.

Her mother's study.

Okay, she could work with that. She pictured herself curled up on the sofa in a warm blanket next to a raging winter fire. She remembered its comfort, the crackling of the oak logs carrying its fiery heat into the spaces close. She imagined the sounds of her mom at her desk, rifling through files and papers and tapping her pen on the bureau as she would do when deep in thought. She was reminded of the rapping of her keyboard as her mother typed in endless information into the data base uploading everything relative to the subject of Abnormals.

Helen's office study was like a haven to her. It had always been a home within her home.

Another place for Sanctuary.

Ashley opened her teary eyes and lifted her head slowly still wincing from the impact of the fall. She was still breathing heavily but the tightness of her chest had eased its sinking feeling.

"There you are," soothed Helen as she leaned back her head to take in her daughter's face.

Ashley grunted a slight smile as Helen continued to rub her back gently. She could feel a stabbing pain shooting in her side that kept her jaw tightly clenched with every deep breath she took. _What else_, Ashley asked condescendingly to the universe.

Ashley could almost see how expansive the room was as she tried to focus on anything other than the pain. The room, if you could even call it that was dark and dreary, cold and lifeless—soulless. Even though she couldn't see well beyond just a few feet around them the silence revealed the depths of its nasty darkness. For most of her time spent here was when she was strapped in the chair.

She lowered her head back down to her knees hiding her grimace.

"Crap," she seethed, sighing painfully. "I…think I broke something," she groaned in another grunt.

Helen's breath caught in fear pulling back her arm from her back placing it on the side of her knee. "Ashley, where do you hurt?"

"Everywhere," came the annoyed response to the pain still aggravating her chest.

"I'm being serious," stated Helen.

Ashley bit her lip again, "uh… ribs. Think I broke a rib."

"How bad is it," Helen asked as she brushed Ashley's bangs back.

"I don't know…"

Helen sighed deeply trying to keep her voice calm, "Alright, does it hurt when you breathe in?"

"A little," she growled squinting her eyes.

"Okay, I need for you to sit up straight."

"No can do. Hurts, too much."

"Ashley sit up! Please." Helen's patience was wearing thin; more so now since she was sitting center in the once stronghold for the Cabal experiments. For almost 116 years she had only been able to see Ashley in her dreams. Now she was living one that had come true. And not even a paper cut was going to go unnoticed on her daughter.

Helen's voice echoed loudly in the darkness causing Ashley to lift her head to it. Helen smiled wearily with her brows arched in an authoritative motherly fashion. "Let me see," she said softly.

Ashley agreed with a subtle nod.

"Which side," asked Helen as she helped her lower her knees and stretch her legs onto the floor.

"Ugh… left side." Ashley pointed down with her finger as she shut her eyes to the pain.

"Does your chest feel heavy," she asked as she pressed her fingers along the bottom of her rib cage.

"Not really… yeah, there," Ashley answered as her mother's found the origin of the pain.

Helen shook her head. Relieved. "It doesn't feel broken. I think you just bruised your side with the fall."

"Fantastic," sighed Ashley in a deeply irritated tone. At least she found that her breaths were slowly gaining in self-control.

Helen overlooked her daughter's angered plight knowing all too well it was warranted.

"If the pain gets any worse I need to know alright?"

"Okay." Ashley closed her eyes again and tilted her head back into the cabinet.

Helen slid to rest beside Ashley as she pointed down to her phone.

"We don't have a cell signal. Either we find a way out or we hope John can think of where we are…"

Ashley sat quiet wishing she had a wand to burn this place to the ground.

The constant dripping pipe continued to trickle water droplets from somewhere in the distance. The thunderstorm continued to roll across the sky as its thundering echoed softly from above them. Both of them sat in silence for a few long moments as they both tried to come to terms with their predicament.

Helen was the first to break the silence.

"You had me scared for a minute," Helen honestly replied as she reached for her daughter's hand.

Ashley tilted her head from the cabinet and looked at her hearing the quivering of her soft words.

"I'm sorry…had some kind of flashback."

Helen nodded in understanding. "Don't be sorry. That is something you had no control over."

Ashley was quiet for a second as she took another deep breath. "What the hell is wrong with me," she griped in a sigh as she tilted her head back into the cabinet.

"You may be experiencing a post-traumatic stress response. Will said this may happen," she said gently.

"Great," she countered in annoyance closing her eyes to the dark room once more. "Just what I need."

"Ashley, listen to me," she said softly getting to her knees again to crouch in front of her.

"Look at me."

Ashley lowered her head to meet her eyes.

"We'll get through this."

"How? I can't control my teleporting? What if I hurt someone?"

"We won't let that happen?"

"But it has happened." Ashley turned away from her as the severity of what she had done surfaced from the undercurrent of her broken memories.

"This wasn't your fault."

Ashley tightened her jaw. "How many people did I kill?"

"Ashley don't do this," Helen whispered.

"How many," she pushed the question. Not backing down from her uncontrolled actions.

"You're not a murderer. You had no control—"

"Doesn't matter. People are dead because of me." She raised her voice keeping her stare off into the hollow darkness.

"What if it had been me?"

That made Ashley turn to face her mother. She could see the tears pooling in her eyes in the dim light as her mother's eyes searched her face.

"What if it was me Ashley? What would you say to me now?" Helen raised her hands firmly holding Ashley's face along her jawline—eyes not looking away. Ashley blinked away her own warm tears rimming at the bottom of her eyes.

"What would you say to me," Helen asked her again louder. Her tone was sharp with an expression so still and serious it scared her. It was the only thing she could think of to make Ashley understand her viewpoint—a view point that held the most meaning in self-reflection.

"Answer me," she pleaded.

The distant leaky pipe continued to drop water droplets in the silence. The sound echoed as it pattered against a metal pipe. The only other sound was their breaths against the darkness. And Ashley just listened to its sound.

Ashley watched her eyes brim again with tears; a constant river seemed to cascade down her cheeks as her mother's unflinching focus stayed on her daughter's face.

"I would say, that it wasn't you're fault."

Helen smiled through her tears. "That is what I need you to understand. I need you to hold on to that every time you feel responsible. No one blames you. No one. I don't blame you. Henry doesn't. No one person who knows and loves you believes that this was your fault."

Ashley listened with a heavy heart.

"You have no idea what it was like for me to know that my own daughter was used as a pon for the destruction of my Sanctuaries. We both have lost so much Ashley. But we rebuild. That is what we do. We get stronger each day. Because that is what we always have done. The Cabal," she spat the words through tears, "they are gone and you are alive. And I will not lose you again. Do you understand me?"

That had always been Helen Magnus' greatest fear—losing her only child.

And Ashley knew this. Sitting here in the rusted grounds of the once testing facility she understood. For she wasn't the only one affected by the Cabal's tyranny. No. Her mother's soul had shattered in the chaos and it still hurt her deeply. If she was going to fight through her demons she had to understand this. No one could understand what they had both endured and lost and found again, so they needed to rely on each other more than anyone to mend their broken hearts.

Ashley needed to learn to trust again. Trust in herself and in her mother's loving words.

"It's just so hard," Ashley cried.

"I know it is Ash. I know…" Helen let her emotions falter as Ashley leaned forward in tears unleashing a wave of vulnerability between them both.

"But I'm trying," sobbed Ashley as she wrapped her good arm around Helen as she buried her head to her shoulder.

"I know you are sweetheart. We are both still in shock from it all. We need to remember that as best we can. But trust me; it will get easier."

"I know," she groaned softly.

Helen pulled her closer. "We just have to learn to let the past be the past. We need to focus on the here and now because that is what I promised myself I would do if you ever came back into my life. And you have. And I promise to keep that promise—to you. No more blaming ourselves for this. No more."

"I understand," came the low shudder of her words.

Helen knew as she held her broken daughter that time will heal all wounds. She had lived through 270 years of it herself though losing Ashley was one wound that never healed.

Until now—

This was a breaking point that both of them had reached. And it was a good thing. It meant that the healing process will find its balance through shared understanding. Ashley knew her mother was right. As much as it hurt to push the blame away from herself—she knew she was right. As was Henry. She thought back to his words that 'everyday lived is defying what the Cabal had tried to do'. And it was true. A human spirit is the most fragile because we are so deeply connected to our world. So was how she was raised to believe. And she knew her spirit had been given a gift to live again from the unwavering love of her mother.

"Thank you," Ashley sobbed holding tight to a handful of white scrub.

Helen understood what those words meant—the very root of its meaning—thank you for comforting the truth; thank you for being there for me; thank you for caring that much to keep me alive; and thank you for being my mother.


	32. Chapter 32

Author's note: Sorry sorry for the long delay between chapters. Life has kept me super super busy and I just couldn't get these upcoming chapters to flow like I wanted. Next chapter is nearly done, just tweaking some of the storyline. We still have a little ways to go until the end, which will conclude in an Epilogue. :)

As always, I hope you enjoy! :D

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><p>Chapter 32<p>

_How long had they been gone?_

Henry looked at his black watch again. The glass casing was broken: probably from the scuffle with the Magoi Abnormal_. _The circled glass had a fracture point in the center and branched outwards in thin tiny lines. No love lost there. Henry had lost count of the amount of broken objects destroyed from Sanctuary life.

_How long?_

It had been almost an hour. One long hour he had been spending staring into his computer screen. John was still with Nikola at the underground secret SCIU facility. Nikola was putting into effect a computer program to shut down their power grid. This would neutralize any attempt to bring it back online for at least 24 hours. This way no one could access means to get in or out. Then when the time was right John would teleport him back without any suspicions.

In the meantime Nikola's time here would be spent analyzing Ashley's test results. _Easy plan right, _Henry told himself.

Nikola was a genius. A brilliant brain and he would get it done. Hopefully sooner than later. But for now it was Henry who would start the search.

The afternoon sunshine streamed down into Henry's lab pouring its glare amid the slanting roof side window. The corners of each square cut glass were painted with the white powdery ice and frosted from the snowfall that had ended only hours ago, but still the sun found a way to peek through. He looked out onto the neighboring rooftops of the Sanctuary from his computer desk. The snow had always looked so picturesque; like an oil painted masterpiece in the fall and early year months. Snow even thickly clung against the cream brickwork near the outer lined windows outside—like patches of moss.

Henry was thankful for how peaceful the environment looked outside. Months ago the world had almost been ripped apart within the time dilation field of Carentan. Which he was now grateful for—Helen had used her experience there to create a miracle—to keep alive, her miracle.

Henry continued to stare out into the white wintry abyss thinking only of Ashley. How much he had missed her. Her company. Her smile. When he saw her again he would pick her up and spin her around like he had done when she was young. He had missed her more than she could ever know.

The wintry environment outside surrounding the whole of Old City looked at ease and peaceful. And in a sense it was.

Again.

Now they just had to find Helen and Ashley.

Henry yawned sitting on his metal stool, hands at his keyboard, fingers again typing the small black square keys searching through every live security feed from every Sanctuary across the globe. He was hopeful that Ashley may have teleported them there; at least to one of the facilities in the Network. After all, she had been to everyone one of them; whether in a joint effort to support foreign Sanctuary teams on missions or to just add a helping hand at that particular Network base. The Sanctuary Network was more than a job to all of them—it was a family that spanned the globe with countless sources and contacts. Ashley could have jumped them to anyone of them. So Henry kept believing.

He was checking all the familiar places first then would print out a list of other locations for John to teleport to. It made sense to him. And he was fairly confident that his method of trying to find a possible location was a logical one. But then again, Ashley had never been to Bhalasaam before and she had jumped there.

Damn. Maybe it wasn't a logical approach he thought.

He fought back another long yawn, growling his frustration in a grunt and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He slowly rolled his neck to try and loosen the tension from his sore shoulders. "Ash where are you," he pitted in a sigh. He didn't like not knowing where they were and he was beginning to feel helpless sitting at his computer. After a few moments of trying to compose his mind he took a glance over to a picture framed photo over on a side bookshelf. The bright sunlight shining through the window glared against the glass of the frame but the image was not lost.

The image was of him and Ashley laughing together, being goofy after a bag and tag werewolf mission in Romania almost eight years ago. Both were sitting in front of a bare marbled fireplace in one of their safe houses, giggling over something he couldn't remember. Ashley and him were decked out in their usual standard black mission attire; faces flushed red from sunburn and smudged with smears of dirt marks. His brown hair was more spikey back then, more of a mohawk while Ashley had just a simple ponytail.

He continued to stare at the picture, like he had for the last three years and he let a smile line his thin lips.

He remembered now.

An inner giggle escaped his grin as he recalled Ashley's bantering about a hot local that looked so much like Adrien Brody.

* * *

><p>"Thank you." Ashley sighed through a soft hiccup. Helen's mouth quivered an unseen smile as warm tears streamed down her cheeks in the dim darkness. She just held her daughter tighter returning her head to rest on her shoulder after a soft kiss to her temple. She knew what that meant.<p>

"You don't need to thank me sweetheart. Nikola was the real reason my plan succeeded. I owe him so much."

Staring through the expanse of dark Ashley focused her eyesight on that chair. She wasn't aware of a lot of what took place here but she was remembering. _That was a good thing_ she thought**.** _Better than remembering nothing._ _Yeah it really sucks to wind up here_ Ashley continued her inner thinking as she slowly let her heavy eyelids slip close for a brief moment.

There was a deep chill that seemed to gnaw at her bones. No other place had felt so wickedly frightening. _Maybe the crypt in Scotland? No_, Ashley acknowledged subconsciously, _no place is worse than here._ As Ashley slumped quietly in her mother's arms she forced herself to think of the positive. Like Pollyanna—the character from that old Disney movie, and that glad game she had introduced to the townsfolk. It was another motto she had carried with her throughout her life. It may have seemed rather odd to never forget such an innocent thought process from an old movie, but words that inspire often find their way into one's heart which eventually become important enough not to forget. In life there is always a positive—something to be glad about. _The positives of being here? Maybe I will remember more?_ Ashley slowly peeled open her blue eyes to the blackness again and looked up over towards the testing chair.

Every blink of her eyes became harder for her to keep them open. But her eyes had adjusted pretty well to the dark. She could see well beyond the chair now. There was almost a silver sharpened quality that brightened each object detailing its edges in more detail than she was used to. _Maybe it has something to do with my new immortality _she mused to herself. _Or maybe it's just nothing? _

_But something is different._

Every muscle in her body felt sore, bruised and achy from the fall. _How far did we fall?_ She stared intensely, quietly squinting her blue eyes which had adjusted fully to the dark atmosphere. Above the facility's basement the ceiling seemed to be endless. The dreadful black almost promised that there were no walls, or boundaries, just an endless nothing. But that wasn't true. There were four concrete walls and a grey bare ceiling.

Past the chair there was a heavy automatic door against the concrete wall. It looked like an elevator door. Shiny silver in color and closed of course. _The positives. Remember? Okay, _she reminded herself._ Well, last time I was here I had no self- control. Now I do; wait—well the teleporting is a work in progress but I know I will eventually get a hold on it. Hell, if Jack the Ripper could bounce around the world then I definitely will find a way. I've controlled it before. _

_Memories? Blurry and clear. But at least I am remembering what I was doing. Where I was. The UK, here, Japan…_she inhaled a breath and sighed.

"You alright," Helen whispered softly. Her tone tired, carrying a raspy tenor. Ashley smiled. She wasn't the only one totally exhausted.

Ashley released her grip from the white fabric of her mother's shirt wiping away the tears pooling her blue eyes. "Yeah, I was just thinking."

Helen had often wondered through the long years of seclusion and even before then—if she did in fact find a way to save her; find her—would she remember anything of what happened. Would she even remember who she was? Her life? Her own mother? She hadn't before until the last moment before she took her last breath within the whirl of a crimson teleport.

But with every scenario that bled across her mind; one thing was true—she would help her remember. Never leave her side and fight to remind her of who she was—what she was a part of and the incredible life that she had been living in. Helen would help her understand that there is always a light to be had in moments of darkness. And at times, you may have to will yourself to find it.

"I'm sorry that you are having to relive this again."

"No mom, maybe its better this way," she countered quietly. "I'm starting to remember things."

The darkness of this lair of the Cabal; this hollowed out lab had swallowed them with its unwelcoming unlively air from the second they arrived here. But the memories of its purpose were only phantoms that Helen had no doubt in her heart Ashley would overcome.

"Do you want to talk about what you can remember," she added gently. Helen was hesitant in asking her this but she knew Ashley just wanted to get back to the normal life she had lived before. Well, _abnormal_ life per se. But it was their life. A life now lived with the shadow of a secret covenant now expired.

Ashley didn't answer. Her mind was still sorting through displaced images that were lingering in her thoughts. Familiar faces from other Sanctuary security teams; ones that she had attacked. Even voices she could recall—like lethargic whispers that had accompanied her landslide of memories. It was a visual timeline sparking like flames to her memory. _Flames_—heat from the fire elemental that was a last resort of a protocol to keep the UK Sanctuary safe. Ashley inhaled a sharp breath to its memory.

Helen slowly leaned back lowering her head to her daughter's sightline. She nodded and flashed a reassuring smile. "I know that your uncontrolled teleporting is scaring you. And I know is must be unnerving to have teleported us here. But listen me. I don't want you to feel like you have to talk about this if you don't want to right now."

Ashley nodded back in understanding while biting at her lip. Hell, she wanted to talk about it. She had a life to live—a new life to begin.

"No its okay," she shook her head. "I know it wasn't my fault. I do." She leaned away tilting her head back to rest against the metal cabinet door, "God this just sucks."

Helen almost let out a laugh as she saw a smile play Ashley's face. It was true. This did suck.

Helen gently brushed her daughter's bangs from her forehead and gave her a comforting smile. "Do you remember when you broke your femur all those years ago? You were so scared you'd never be able to walk again. Henry and I kept reassuring you that you would gain your balance once the broken bone and torn muscle healed. It would just take time."

Ashley breathed a quiet laugh remembering Henry annoyingly throwing M&Ms at her while she was confined to bed rest in her room. He would randomly peek from around her open bedroom door, tossing the chocolate candies at her in both brotherly love and just to annoy her innocently. She had wanted to chase him down the hallway and tackle him, crutches, leg cast and all.

Which she did on a few occasions.

"I remember."

"Good. I need for you to hold on to that sentiment. Don't let go of it. We will start again. We take one day at a time," she said as she squeezed her shoulder's lightly.

"I know. I just wish I knew more about what they did to me." Ashley's eyes shifted through the black murky open spaces of the darkened facility. "…How they made me forget my own family. How did they do that," she pleaded in a soft voice.

"We may never find answers to how they suppressed your memories. We have to accept this and move forward. You're not going through this alone."

Both mother and daughter eyed each other. A moment of silence filled the haunting darkness. Ashley lowered her gaze at the iPhone placed on the cold stone in front of her. She stared into the dim white light. It wasn't much. Even on the brightest mode. But it spread across the floor with enough glow that she could pick out the etched scratches, small voids and chips of white against the grey concrete. It amazed Ashley at how a building could literally look, dead.

Ashley lowered her head into her hands and rubbed her face in attempts to relieve her exhaustion. She was still pale and her under eyes were darkened from the lack of sleep. A few sutures had been threaded loose on her forehead, probably from the fall Helen thought, and a thin trail of blood had trickled its way down between her eyes.

Helen reached in her pocket to grab a small handful of gauze she had left over from Henry's ordeal with the Magoi. "You must have nicked a few sutures when we fell" she said as she gently reached at Ashley's chin to tilt her head back. She carefully wiped away the red line trailing down the bridge of her nose between her eyes. "When we get home, I'll change your bandages."

Both Ashley and Helen locked eyes. Ashley was the first to laugh. Helen's lips curled into a smirk. Then both of them were laughing together. Quite riotously. It was what Helen always said to her after a solo mission. And one in particular the night Ashley took on some chameleon in a cave a few years back. The phone call from atop a building was the last time Ashley recalled her mom making that statement.

It felt good to laugh Helen mused. And she knew that in the end—everything will be alright.

After Ashley caught her breath she sighed aloud blinking her eyes to try and fight the heaviness of her eyelids. Helen smiled as she continued to brush the gauze pad to her forehead and spaces between her eyes. Ashley was so glad her mother was here with her. And Helen was relieved that Ashley wasn't alone.

"Can we just find a way out of here," Ashley asked as she watched Helen place the bloodied gauze pad back into her pocket.

Helen couldn't agree more. "We will. There should be some level stairwell leading to the above levels," she replied. "Here," Helen stood to her feet and gently helped Ashley get her balance to stand. "There is no power running through this building. So any elevator access or electronic doors will be completely sealed off."

"Where's Henry when you need him?" Ashley joked leaning back against the counter as she surveyed the large basement lab.

A moment of silence befall them again.

Things could always get worse.

Though sometimes it was hard so not to believe in that infamous phrase living in the incredible world of Helen Magnus. For her, living on the edge of disaster and discovery—one always had to be on their toes; looking for an escape route wherever possible—whenever possible.

But in this moment, in the hold of the dark that kept her feeling condemned inside this immensely vacant and hollow, empty void of an eerie place; there was nowhere to go.

So Helen let the options of finding a potential way out rush across her already emotionally exhausted mind—the power to this building had been cut off she reminded herself again. Without a portable power source to trip them open, they were like mice in a closed maze. Helen bypassed that thought and continued to think of other ways to get them out.

Perhaps they could break open the air vents. But only small metal shuttered portals existed in just a few visible places along the bottom of the dark concrete wall behind them. This much she could tell from briefly observing the back wall lined with the metal cabinet. Unless they could morph into Folding Men, that option was a no go. Leave it to the Cabal to make sure every aspect of escape was carefully taken under consideration. This level was a concrete bunker of solid entrapment.

Ashley hadn't moved since she stood to her feet and it didn't take long for Helen to pick up on the focus Ashley was directing behind her. Ashley blinked a few times more fighting to keep the pull of sleep at bay. She squinted her eyes tightly and watched the silver colors dance in brightened glows and dimming lines through her field of vision. _Yes, something is different with my eyesight._ The self- acknowledgement along with the realization was starting to scare her.

She took a breath and slowly began walking towards the black empty chair—the single object that she had been staring at since they got here. Helen watched her nearly disappear into the unlit blackness of the room.

"This was where I woke up for the first time," came Ashley's soft echoing whisper. Standing next to the chair she looked down to the grey concrete floor noticing the broken metal bar that had become unhinged from their fall. It must have been attached to one of the wrist holds.

Helen bent down picking up her iPhone and lit the way over to stand beside her daughter. She was trying to place herself in Ashley's shoes, like she has done for so many decades in attempt to understand what she had gone through and experienced when she was here. But still it wasn't enough. For weeks after Ashley disappeared her heart just broke more and more as each day passed without a word, a clue of where she had been taken leaving her to imagine the absolute worst. Every contact she had ever known came up empty handed without any information that could help them locate her whereabouts. It wasn't until her and John teleported into Egypt that they learned a small piece of the puzzle—that the Ashley they knew, was no more.

And she wanted to know how. To try and learn anything however insignificant it may be, to help find answers. Ashley's episode in front of the elevator still weighed heavily on her heart and only heightened her concern.

She thought for a second before speaking. She placed a hand to her back as she took a stand beside her. Helen eyed the chair knowing at one time, her daughter was strapped into it.

"Do you remember anything of what happened here?"

Ashley continued to eye the black chair too; eyes analyzing the black vertical ingrained pattern designs lining the length of the back rest. "My memories, they haven't all been clear…" she muttered softly as she shut her eyes to the empty spaces. It was cold down here too and she wondered how far below the surface they actually were. She even remembered feeling its cold chill in the brief moments of lucidity she had awakened to between her injections.

_Injections._

The thought of that word disgusted her. Only her mother, the Big Guy, and Gregory had ever taken her blood or injected medication that way. So having some stranger, on the Cabal's payroll using her as a lab rat was the last thing she'd expected. So being strapped immobile to a metal chair paralyzed to her environment didn't sit well with her.

"Alright," Helen replied giving her daughter a gentle rub to her back, "can you tell me what you do remember?"

"The IV lines, I remember being hooked up," she explained as she ran her fingers over the cold metal wrist straps of the chair. She pulled up her right arm in and cradled it against her stomach closing her fingers into a tight fist. "There was more than one. I couldn't move. I felt paralyzed." She immediately recalled the cold plastic lines resting into the creases of her forearms again, "I was in this chair. There was this scientist lady. I could hear her sometimes when she would walk by the chair or when she was injecting something in my IVs. Shadows blurred past me. Voices sounded far away. Like whispers. I couldn't understand what they were saying."

"The injections must have been time sensitive which allowed for you to wake into consciousness at its ending cycle; making you more aware of your surroundings." Helen knew as much being a medical doctor. It just made her frustrated not knowing what they had injected into her daughter. That thought still infuriated her.

"That's what I was thinking too," Ashley agreed in a relieving sigh. Speaking the smallest of recollections seemed to slowly lift the pain weighted on her heart. She quieted for a few moments once more as she sorted through her recent flash of memories. The images cascaded in clear scenes and blurred images but she held on to them nonetheless; trying to explain the details pertaining to each.

Ashley turned her gaze over to their left into the expanding hazy darkness. Her eyes then focused the lost detail from their distance. The tall water tank reflected dimly within the low light source as Helen shined its glow to where Ashley was looking. Again the shades of the hazy dark revealed its colors to Ashley. Blackish green with a thick grassy-like layer was matted to every square inch of the glass walls. The distances beyond the tank shadowed into detailed lines and obstacles. Ashley was unnerved at how clear the darkness was becoming as it slowly bled between detailed greys and shadowed vivid color.

Ashley then pointed over to the stagnant water tank as she began walking over towards it. Helen followed beside her.

Helen was trying so hard to banish the eerie feeling floating around her. Around them. She didn't like being here. It was so dark. The constant smell of the damp heavy air still made her stomach turn. The atmosphere was just too unrelenting with its literal imagery of its once sickly purpose.

Feet from the water tank they stopped before a square grated metal incline that surrounded the testing reservoir. Helen raised the iPhone shining its small light to reflect off the thick glass. Algae pasted like moss on all sides of the glass and along the steel flooring around it. The dark colored growth had spread between the welded sections patterned in a crosshatched design beneath them.

"I remember being in the water," she began staring into the tank. "I can only remember an image of that scientist behind the glass for a second."

Helen couldn't think of any reason why she was put into the tank. Perhaps Nikola could develop a working theory on that once they found a way back to the Sanctuary.

"Back home before I got into the elevator, I started to remember something else—I saw Will and you standing in front of me. In some building." Ashley turned to face her mother. Helen met her eyes and exhaled through quiet tears as her mind's eye returned to that day—the day they found her.

"Your memory was when we moved on intel concerning the location of a Cabal warehouse," she said softly. "John teleported us there in hopes we could find a lead to where you were. When I saw you… seeing you alive. I was so happy. We had been looking for you. For six weeks. But it seemed like…"

Ashley's jaw set tight in a warm acknowledgement. "But it felt like forever huh?"

"Yes," Helen whispered softly. Her vulnerable side being exposed again which was a side that she rarely showed.

If at all.

"Six weeks felt… like an eternity." Helen's British lilt lingered in a soft echo for a few seconds only to dissipate in congruence with a distance leaky pipe baring itself again as it dripped its liquid contents downwards. Ashley watched as a blanket of tears crept from her mother's blue eyes as she just stared back at her.

Helen gave in to her emotions once more and grabbed her daughter in another warm and loving embrace. Ashley smiled in the darkness.

Standing here, in her ground zero, made her feel stronger oddly enough. Now, returning into its depths had suddenly stirred something inside her. She could feel it buzzing, pumping through her veins and soul like a rush of mad adrenaline even though sleep was pulling at her consciousness. There had always been that inner fight of purposeful awakening, a focused spark that fueled her heart to carry out and walk beside her mother and her legacy. She could feel that emotion present now. Stronger than before. And even though she had nearly single handedly taken down the Sanctuary Network—the foundations of who she was, who she is, were being built again. Rising from the wretched obscurity making it stable once more.

The expansive open area of the Cabal lab continued to seep its putrid musk around them. The sub-basement complex could well be a grave, empty now below a concrete expanse of unoccupied levels and rooms from a stronghold finally gone. Above the heavy rain storm still filtered across the sky with its occasional thunder dissipating more and more every few minutes. The storm had almost passed over. Ironic too—an order from the chaos here was a storm that was losing strength and its hold to Ashley's heart.

The Cabal was just a bridge in life that she would burn to the ground. Starting today. After all, her and her mother's motto for living was one they held closest to their hearts—'we must let go to move on'. And its very meaning found a different precipice to mirror her life from—a new foundation called immortality and its realizations spilled across her thoughts like a flooding rain—time heals all wounds.

Today was a good place to start. Literally.


	33. Chapter 33

Author's note: Sorry it took this long to finally get into the light hearted happy home stretch. Not sure when the next chapter will be up but hopefully in a few weeks. Thanks to all of the reviews and Alerts so far. For each and every one reading, your time is appreciated very much and I hope you continue to enjoy Start of Days. :D

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><p>Chapter 33<p>

Swallowed by an oversized Comic Con sweatshirt, with sleeves too long for his arms, Henry Foss weaved sideways in a 180 rotating on his metal stool. His yellow colored hooded sweatshirt was nearly faded to a dull muted beige. It was old school vintage, fraying in loose strands and torn threads at the wrists and stained in black discolorations along the sleeves from his metal workings

Ashley had one too. They had bought their matching hoodies together at the holy grail of Sci-fi weekend bliss many years ago. Wearing it made him feel closer to her. Like she was right beside him—and had never left him. But more importantly, it was a security blanket. An expression of how much he truly missed and caringly loved Ashley all wrapped up in precious yellow cotton.

A white paper printout rested beside his computer mouse. Locations from seaside café's to secluded safe houses topped the travel itinerary for John Druitt to teleport to. For every place that Henry could remember having traveled with Ashley; the first list bolded and italicized the most important—the most sentimental to them.

It was nice to reflect on where their journeys had taken them—many rich in cultural exposure which opened their eyes to the true representation of the meaning of life. Many such locations numbered in latitudes and longitudes were kept hidden from modern civilization and forces that would threaten their habitant's existence. Helen Magnus' life was the ultimate epitome of secret. But where she went—they went; of course when Helen trusted Ashley was old enough to join them—which was the day she could comfortably handle a loaded firearm. Hold it properly; load and discharge with an educated and calibrated ease, and lastly directly shoot the center of a bull's eye target through its center mark. Henry thought hard. Honestly, that was probably when Ashley turned 10.

At that age she had already detonated, launched remotely and fired a number of Foss-invented contraptions—all without Helen's motherly consent. Even once he and Ashley had blasted a holiday snowman to a watery end on the front lawn of the Sanctuary on Christmas Eve. Just for fun. Because they could. And Henry still kept their sibling ingenuity of that experimental grenade confidential to this day.

He chuckled in a snorted giggle. His inner thoughts just proved the obvious filtering from his worries of the current safety of her wellbeing. Ashley was born a fighter. Helen knew it from the start.

He did too. And that was all there was to it. Like mother like daughter.

For wherever they were—he knew they were keeping a balanced approached for whatever they were facing.

_Come to think of it—now since Ashley can teleport; we don't need a pay for plane tickets again._

Small thins lips curled upwards into a tight smile of realization. _I can't wait to bring this up to Ash._ Like she hadn't thought about it already? In a moment's notice they could be sitting coast side at a favorite Grecian isle café. Whenever. Wherever. And that was pretty damn awesome.

Faith filled his heart knowing without a doubt that Ashley would be able to control her gift too. She was competitive in everything. In was in her DNA.

He twisted again twirling sideways in his metal stool. He just continued to let his mind wonder for he had done all he could. He had started the search by creating a list of destinations. Biggie was somewhere, probably in Magnus' office, telephoning other trusted Abnormal sources as another means to try and locate them. It seemed like an impossible task as Helen was connected to a boundless array of sources and contacts. But he dialed their numbers one by one nonetheless.

After having printed out John's travel itinerary Henry took the picture frame of he and Ashley from the bookshelf and placed it beside his flat screen computer monitor. And so without anything else to do than wait for John to return with the great brain that was Nikola Tesla; he let his memories keep him company…

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><p>Flashback<p>

A village province in Romania, 2004—

The dry air seemed to float around them; suspending the muggy moisture hovering over the open meadow. The sun was just breaking above the horizon casting a soft yellow glow through the fog as three bodies, blanketed in layers of black dirt and dripping sweat walked side by side across the wide tall grassy field.

The hot humid air with an occasional cooling breeze was inviting now after finding freedom from the dense forest. It was a mission that bordered on pear shaped and many curses of bloody hell as Helen had so bluntly put it. That just confirmed its normalcy within the confines of daily Sanctuary life; Werewolves were never an easy species to track, especially at night beneath an ashen full moon. Just as the horror books entailed it to be; full moon equals werewolves instinctually becoming more animalistic and ferocious predators.

So it was nothing new.

Tall Birchwood trees stood bare branched with only tiny shoots of green sprouting along its thin shedding bark. The vast forest became sparser now that they had traveled beyond its condensed borders. The trees decorated the open landscape filling the environment like tall pale toothpicks stretching towards the buttery tinted sky. A light veil of emerald grassland traversed across the flat horizon filling the ground in bright green hues as the fog lingered in a smoky miasma. The safe house they were nearing was placed in the center of a Birchwood meadow located for easy access. Even a landing strip, purposely narrow and bare of trees was accessible for a small plane.

Ashley Magnus was humming lightly to a tune she was making up in her head.

Whistling sounded behind her and she glanced back to find Henry crossing his bright blue eyes goofily while wrinkling his mouth in lipped song.

"Show off," she told him acting on pure envy. She couldn't whistle. She could shoot every weapon under the blasted sun; hunt any creature that walked the Earth, swam underwater and flew amid the cobalt colored sky. But she couldn't bloody whistle.

Henry extended his signature pearly grin from a sweaty face blended with grainy smears. Dry mud pasted along his sunburned skin on his cheeks, chin and neck—except for the white circled pattern surrounding his blue eyes. It was the only area free of his heated suntan. He had been wearing new modernized—Foss designed heat censored vision goggles while on their recent mission that ended all but two hours ago—which had started yesterday before the sun had risen. His reddened sunburnt complexion revealed a quite impressive contrast from sunburned red to soft white skin.

Ashley thought he looked like red panda bear.

"Just put your lips together and blow." Henry winked a wide smile then licked the chapped skin of his lips. He was playing the nurturing teacher supporting the methods of the art of whistling, which through the years never found accomplishment in helping her. He inwardly liked having the upper hand but wouldn't admit it. He loved being able to do something she couldn't. And it was all the part of the nature from being an older brother and lifelong friend.

Ashley rolled her eyes blinking the watery dew from her eyelids as they continued to walk within the thick blanketed vapor. "You've been telling me that since I was three. It's not gonna happen."

"Ash, come on. It's so simple."

"Simple?" She laughed swinging her heavy shot gun sideways to switch shoulder positions. "Dude, I pucker. I blow. But nothing happens. That's why I hum."

"You're not even trying," Henry's voice pitched high in disagreement, dancing a circle around her in a childlike skipping motion. Raising his arms to her he saluted the Vulcan greeting sign of 'Live long and Prosper'. It was the only thing he knew how to sign in any semblance of sign language. Ashley intensely concentrated on his goofy sunburnt expression. Soft edges around the corners of his eyes were already bubbling in white peeling transparent bubbles. Lips chapped in peels of white skin and face so red; he looked like a big dork. Soft brown hair sprouted up in a mohawk contour channeling across the center of his buzzed cut scalp. Kevlar knee pads and some necklace she didn't even know where he got it from bounced against his throat as he danced his homemade Foss jig. The necklace design was of a tiny dragon cocooned in a small thumb sized crystal ball. What was up with that? She actually had a few guy friends that adorned the same decorative man jewelry. Was it some magical charmed conspiracy to try and make them more mature?

"You are a large child you know that right?"

Giggles, uncontrolled in a burst erupted beside her. Helen stumbled sideways nearly dropping her mission back pack to the grassy ground. Ashley was embarrassed for her mother at how loud she was laughing.

"Whoa mom, gotta reign that in. It wasn't that funny." Ashley released a breathless squeal of hysterics as she watched Henry trip backwards into a patch of tall billowy grass stalks. Serves him right for dancing and jumping around her, waving his arms like an intoxicated Indian medicine man.

"Nerd," she giggled harder as she walked on past him leaving him to nestle between the thick vegetation. The compacted blades of grass cradled Henry like a small bundle of hay. He wasn't in a least bit offended she had left him where he fell. "Are you sure you're doing it right."

"Not possible," came the response from the pathway swirling from the vapory fog distilling away from him. All he could make out now was a hazy black clothed figure disappearing into its foggy depths.

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Just try," he begged in a long call.

"Can it." She added as her voice carried an agitated tone as it echoed across the meadow landscape. She would never let on to Henry at how much it frustrated her that she couldn't whistle.

Helen laughed silently to herself, cheeks flushed red from Ashley's funny mockery and yesterday's sun. She lowered her hands and helped free a still giggling Henry from the grassy binds of the thick foreign savannah. She loved hearing them banter back and forth.

She lived for every second of it.

Ashley was the only one left in the Magnus family that couldn't whistle. Even the big guy, the Sasquatch of mountain hillbilly folklore could whistle. And in the early years of Ashley's life when she was an infant, Biggie would whistle his way into her little heart in quiet hallway walks in the odd hours of the late night. It was his way of playing the role of 'dad' while also assuring Helen could plan a full night's rest. It was a complicated lifestyle to raise a daughter and work in the magical world of Helen Magnus. But she hadn't been alone. The big hairy butler was always by her side with a helping hand, encouraging word, and a tune to comfort baby Ashley in a singing of a whistle.

"Biggie can whistle…" Henry called out to Ashley as he bent down, brushing the clingy stemming undergrowth from his already dirtied black pants.

Ashley sighed softly in happy remembrance of the sweet memories, though more vague to this day of when the Big Guy would rock her in her mother's wicker chair. In times when Helen was away for work purposes he carried out the bedtime routine started by her mother. She instantly recalled the creaking of the circled weaved wicker bands, its creaking that sounded with every lean back of a swing-like rock. The resonance always comforted her to fall asleep. The sound never changed. And even when her surrogate father rocked her fragile little soul in his big burly embrace, the soft creaking remained the same as when held close within her mother's arms. A soft tear escaped her eye as her heart opened up more to the understanding of how much the Big Guy truly loved her.

"He's an Abnormal. Whistling is _Abnormal._"

Henry re-strapped a loose knee pad and then took off in a jog to catch up to her. "But he can do it," he pressed to challenge her patience. "And he has like, baby teeth!"

Ashley only guessed at how that made it possible. "Makes for good air flow." She heard Henry squeak a giggle behind her. Footfalls on soft earth trekked louder as he approached her side. A second later Henry caught up with her, reaching up beside her as he fell in step, flicking his fingers at her short blonde ponytail. "Just try. Please. For me."

Ashley glanced over to him. He was expressing those lovable sinking puppy eyes. He was softening those baby blues to make her pity his request. In a way it was too sweet she figured. And utterly, undeniably, annoying. But she couldn't deny his request. He looked so desperate in hopes she could finally, at last do it.

Ashley turned towards him again. Another current of fog misted and whirled around their faces as she spoke. "I am trying," she promised. Watch me." she growled tightening her lips again in an outright attempt. She blew. And blew. Blew harder twisting her lips like a puckering fish.

Then spit.

"Uugh, Henry it's no use. I can't."

Whistling, high pitched and professional-like sounded off close behind her.

Oh god.

Helen was whistling.

"That's not fair. You two have like…" Ashley paused rolling her blue eyes again, "whistling genes. You're not normal."

"Ashley come on. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Henry sing-songed.

The three continued to step in line across the grassy field. Ashley cocked her head from her mother now walking to her left and back to Henry. "If you ask me that again I'm going to lock you up in the SHU when we get home. Don't think I won't do it."

A deep nasal snort hissed from Henry's nose. "You have to catch me first."

He poked her in her arm, "Tag, you're it," then jumped sideways, skipping like a gazelle once in a big stride to egg her on, then took off in a sprint towards the safe house about 20 yards from them.

Ashley didn't give in. The meadow was a menagerie of tall white trees and she didn't care to zig zag between them in attempts to chase her uber nerd big brother.

It had been a wild night. She was a mess. Dirt particles clung to her vest jacket. It was even matted in her hair and along her black pant legs. Not to mention a sweaty face that had absorbed every tiny grain of black dirt. She was almost too tired to walk.

Squish.

Her right boot then splish-splashed into a mud hole. It suctioned her foot deeper in the sole of her already water logged boot from having walked through a shallow stream early last night.

Plop.

Goes her other foot.

Ashley's nose crinkled up as her feet became entangled in a mud puddle reaching her ankles. Helen couldn't help but let out another wave of giggles.

"Grooosssse," Ashley squealed in a whine as cold watery earth soaked her boots. "All in a day's work," Helen noted in a smile as she quickly helped pull her from the water logged ground hole.

The day had been long. Work was done. They were alive. And that much still made Ashley glad though she was consumed by earthly filth.

It was nice to be out of a dark rocky cave she rationalized; flashlights used as a light source while on a mission was just added frustration. Especially when having to compensate for a bulb burnout at the end of her weapon scope—as long sharp teeth and talon like claws were pouncing her way. She would remind Henry, again and again about this until they returned to the Sanctuary. He was the one who always made sure to replace them before each mission.

She liked to see what she was hunting, trapping, or whatever. The cave might have been a setback for less experienced people but they accomplished their mission nonetheless. It was also the last place they had expected to discover the wild werewolves. That very last place. And it would be the last time Ashley took intel from the local bar of drunken loud mouthed hooligans. The only good that came of it was joining forces with her Adrien Brody look alike. He had been highly recommended for the mission by a local big game hunter. Too bad Ashley's short lived crush wasn't as experienced as they were.

Ashley unhooked her velcro gun strap around her leg as she held open the heavy door leading into the safe house. She followed in behind her mother and Henry, who had waited at the door inside. The safe house smelled of strong cedar and lavender flowers as she passed the threshold of the doorway. Two wooden barrels were neatly placed on either side of the mahogany front door with fresh lavender plants thriving in each. It was a safe house yes, but that didn't mean it had to look like one—a lot of their global safe houses looked like average cottages, mountain homes etc. It was a way to keep them relaxed, feeling lived-in and comfortable.

She wiped away the last remaining sweat beads blotting her cheeks with her palm. They had set out yesterday morning and the sun had made its presence known as they all were sporting reddened sunburns. Henry had forgotten to pack the sunscreen.

Again.

Which was another thing Ashley would love to fret on him about.

Their journey had them following supposedly credible intel on where these creatures dwelled. It wasn't until around midnight they found a trail, larger than average werewolf tracks near and around a narrowed mountain side cave entrance.

Henry rested his tranquilizer rifle beside a small rectangular table inside the front door and limped his way over to the fireplace and took a sprawling spread onto the cherry wood planked floor. Ashley laughed at his exhausted enthusiasm following him on his heels. Two large windows un-curtained allowed for bright sunshine to cast its warm glow into the whole of the small house. A white marbled chimney sat idle against a red and cream bricked inner wall and Ashley dropped across the three cushions of the black leather sofa facing it.

She buried her face into the small plush cream pillow and exhaled her inner relief of a mission finally over. She then rested her head sideways staring out to the baby budding green forest surrounding the safe house. She watched the dawning fog swirl with the soft breezes of the morning.

"I have to admit mom; I've never seen so much plasma flying in my life. Good thing we brought the 'patented Magnus charm."

"You said it Ash. Damn doc," he called out to Helen as he stared at the heavy dark wooden beams running across the ceiling, "that was a close one."

Helen had taken a stand at the sink on the left side of the room filling a tea pot with water. This trip was supposed to be a family easy bag'em and tag'em, catalogue and sedation mission to locate and track the last remaining werewolves; ones that didn't turn back into human form—the rare and oldest of the breed. But it had turned into a frenzy of madness and an all-night non-stop search and stay-alive event.

"I can attest to that," chimed Helen opening a cherry cabinet door. She reached and pulled free three white china tea cups. She then put the tea pot on the burner and made her way into the living area.

Ashley was still staring at the window gazing at old leaf foliage that had collected along the red bricked sill outside. Helen tossed her Kevlar jacket on the back of the leather sofa and sunk down into the cushion next to her daughter.

Helen leaned back into the pillow-like leather, glad at last to finally get off of her feet after a long day and night. "And no more hiring of locals," she noted with a hint of humorous agitation as she winked at Henry knowing all too well of the bad intel that the 'monsters' lived in dens near some winding river bend.

"You talking about the Adrien Brody look-alike," Ashley asked exhausting a tired, but giddy laugh.

"The very one," Helen shook her head lifting her legs to the stone slated table positioned in front of the sofa. "It is a mistake we will not make again. He said he was a skilled hunter?"

"Maybe of squirrel…" Ashley quipped in a retort.

Helen threw her head back and laughed. Henry snorted in hysterics and crawled over slinking across the floor to Ashley giving her a high five at her joke. "Squirrel," he squealed as he slapped at Ashley's hand. "Nice."

"But he was a hot _hunter_ anyways," added Ashley.

"I concur," Helen flashed a grin looking at her daughter, "and I promise you next time we bring Silvio."

"Aw mom," she sat up whining. "Come on; we can handle things like this. No need to call in the cavalry. Plus, he would have freaked out at the sight of fangs and glowing eyes. He would just be another liability."

Helen watched as Ashley leaned down pulling free her tie strings to unlace her boots.

Helen smiled in acknowledged truth and sighed in agreement, "I suppose you're right. I just hadn't expected a pack as large as this one. Bloody Hell I'm just glad the tranquilizers worked as fast as they did on initial approach."

Ashley kicked off her mud soaked boots making sure they landed near Henry. "Yeah, until mom and dad showed up. And grandpa and grandma," Ashley's eyes went wide as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair to redo her ponytail.

"Man, they came out of nowhere." Henry was now sitting along the base of the red bricked fireplace, holding a fire poker in his hands and balancing one of Ashley's wet boots in the air by the inner sole, "I thought they were only like, four of them."

"Bad intel," Ashley made clear again still feeling pissed about the local recon being wrong. She gave a wink at Henry and propped her muddy soaked socks and feet on the table. Helen lightly swatted Ashley with a neighboring pillow, "feet young lady." Ashley again, rolled her eyes then dropped her feet to the floor. Helen was a stickler for cleanliness—Ashley, not so much when totally exhausted and too tired to even take a shower.

Henry raised his eyes to her, arching a single brow and playfully pointing the fireplace poker in her direction, dropping her muddy boot to the floor. "Um, yeah, your Brody boyfriend needs to learn how to count."

Ashley frowned and stuck her tongue at him while folding her arms to her chest. "Well I'm just glad things didn't get ugly," she hissed playfully.

Henry glanced at Helen. Then both of them turned to face Ashley meeting her gaze with equally surprised eyes.

"Uglier," Ashley stated with a curled smirk of her mouth.

"Oh," Helen said remembering something. She got up from the sofa and walked over to a weapons case near the front door. Ashley tilted her head back and peered over the top of the leather sofa. She watched her mom open a heavy case top pulling out a smaller one. Helen looked up knowing Ashley was looking her way.

Cheerfully Helen smiled, "I've got something for you."

Henry placed the fire poker back to the holder trying to keep his sheepish grin from exposing Helen's little secret. Ashley sat up straight, parched on the edge of the sofa cushion as Helen walked over handing her the hard plastic case. "Happy Birthday sweetheart."

Ashley studied the black case for a few seconds then lifted her surprised eyes to find her mother smiling proudly. "Oh you didn't have to get me anything," she said with a slight frown. "Yes I did," Helen told her. "I know you said you didn't want anything but this was something I was planning of getting you for a long time. I just wanted to do something special for your 18th birthday."

Ashley placed the casing in her lap and slowly flipped open the metal latches on each side. She opened the top and found a dark grey padded foam boundary along its inner borders. Her blue eyes glazed over with amazement. She placed her hand over the object and ran her fingers over the cold shiny metal. She took in every detailed inch from muzzle to hand grip—her eyes following every slanted golden line. "Mom, holy crap."

"You like it?"

Ashley dropped her jaw in silent awe. She spoke slow, reveling at the gift. "Are you kidding? It's awesome."

"I hoped you would. I know our lives have afforded for you to have a different up bringing than most. And because of that I found it only fitting to give you this for your birthday."

"It's perfect mom," Her blue eyes lowered back to the shiny weapon. Her voice trailed off as she sat analyzing the calibrated golden gun. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome love. Henry helped with its construction."

"Hey Ash, don't you lose it," he ordered proudly knowing she never would. "That gun was a tough build. Shoots like 9mil but feels like a magnum."

"Magnum huh," she laughed pulling free the weapon from the foam lining. She raised it, then lowered it to get the feel of its weight aiming it towards the window. "She's a beauty Henry. I owe you one."

An ear stinging pitch rang out from the tea pot.

"Tea," Helen chimed in her proper British lilt, but before she got up from the sofa she pulled her daughter into a hug. "Happy 18th sweetheart."

Ashley wrapped close an arm around her sighing her heartfelt appreciation. "Thank you."

"You are welcome love. And Biggie's on cake duty until we get home. " Helen pressed a kiss to her forehead. Biggie was a master at the batter and for a Sasquatch, the beast could bake up a storm of sugary delights. Ashley daydreamed of chocolate cake and chocolate icing. And she knew the Big Guy was whipping up something fierce. She smiled as she felt her heart sink of being appreciated, and loved so much.

"I love it really. Thank you."

Helen returned a smile then made her way back over to the kitchen.

Ashley sat quietly for a second. Henry watched her take a moment's pause to again slide her fingers over the special gold weapon. He knew she thought it was a kickass.

"Ahem," came the interruption from Henry. Ashley raised her eyes to him. He had pushed down his pink inner eyelids to cover his eyes and rolled his head side to side. The sun was now spilling its dawn into the living area and Henry looked somewhat Angelic as the light bounced off the polished white marble of the fireplace. And he was anything but holy. Maybe a holy bundle of boundless irritating energy. He was whistling the Happy Birthday theme song to her.

"You are relentless," she informed him huffing an unoffended breath.

He then throated a louder whistling tone. Ashley innocently raised a middle finger. He then ended his tune reluctantly in a soft chortle. "Comes with the territory. I'm older than you. Which means I am allowed to drive you crazy."

"Dude you do drive me crazy. When you drive. That's why I have my bike."

"Which I change the oil, change your tires, and make it all pretty."

Ashley shrugged at his dutiful words. After all he was her motorcycle mechanic. He had a point and reminded her of his importance as a handyman.

"Hey," he called back reclaiming her attention. "What about that gun huh?"

Ashley broke the bantering off and mended in forfeit making another jaw drop expression returning her focus to one beautiful gun. He laughed his cute man giggle and saluted her like a military soldier.

Ashley shook her head still in quiet awe and stood from the sofa scuffling quickly over towards him. "Man, this is so freaking cool. I can't believe you did this."

Henry shrugged sheepishly shaking his head. "Hey, it was nothing. It's what I do. Plus, your mom asked that I make it. How could I refuse?"

"So no crate of oozies?" Ashley pouted a fake expression of being sad and kneeled down to plop to the floor in front of him.

"How many guns does a girl need," Henry gave a soft fist bump to her arm.

"Hey," she joked placing the gun case down next to her, "a girl can never have enough handguns. Or shotguns or rifles or tranq guns or—"

"Okay, Okay I get it," he countered running a hand through his short mohawk. "You're a guru queen of firearms."

"Henry, Always, I thank," she giggled in a gurgle in her best attempt at a Master Yoda backwards dialogue; obviously poking fun at his love for Star Wars.

"Okay 'Miss I have to patent everything as a Magnus charm'."

Ashley poked him in the arm with her finger. "At least I don't trekify all my high tech devices with nerd names."

"Don't you rip on my thermal scanner," he laughed taking hold of her wrist to pretend he was twisting it back in some battle of arm wrestling. Ashley bared her teeth, jutting out her lower jaw imitating a fanged werewolf. "Dude," she tugged at his wrist tightly not giving him an inch to weakness to work with, "you told my tall dark and handsome that your device was a tricorder."

A snort erupted from Henry's clenched jaws. Both of them were quite a feat to watch when in their sibling challenges of wits and strength battles. "Well your tall dark and handsome should learn how to aim," he grunted grabbing at her other hand trying to make both her hands come together and cross. Ashley fought against his strong fingers clasped around her wrists as they tried harder to see who could cross each other's arms first.

Ashley growled in a laugh almost losing her balance as she slid sideways on the floor from the play fight. "Hey," she squealed using all her strength to win this sibling round, "he, was easy, on the eyes," she strained in broken heavy breaths.

"Too bad he was blind." Henry batted his eyes flirtatiously while puckering his chapped thin lips, making loud obnoxious kissing noises.

Ashley burst into a fit of rolling hyena-like giggles. "Please, the only woman," she snickered loudly, "who gave you a second glance at that bar was a woman who looked like a cross between Bea Arthur and a raisin." Henry then fell forwards going weak as he was overcome with embarrassed hysterics. Ashley successfully pinned him by his waist to the floor; nearly sitting atop his legs. "My guy was worth looking at!" She announced her giddiness like a trophy presentation of finding Mr. Right. Or Mr. Right for right now in Romania for a bag and tag'em mission. "He was awesome," she blared in a helpless romantic giddy grin. _Awesomely handsome._

Henry seethed through an almost breathless grin locking his blue eyes up at her. "For… a squirrel hunter." He ended the 'last act' of their witted battle with a big smooching kiss reenactment to the air.

Boisterous laughter echoed in the house within a bright flash of white as Helen snapped a picture unknowingly from behind the sofa.

Man giggles and high pitch squeals, ignored the camera's reveal and continued to laugh uncontrollably. Their voices rang loudly throughout the small safe house like it had since Ashley was old enough to join them on missions like this—adventurous missions filled with danger and that of fun. Henry and Ashley were two peas in a pod and Helen wouldn't have it any other way. Since the moment she brought Henry home they both had gravitated to each other like magnets; from all night talks of life to all day squabbling sibling rivalries. The family tree that bonded them together was not of blood but that had no bearing. None whatsoever. Ashley and Henry adored each other and were blessed to live the life they had been given. A life lived in a world in which they walked the tight rope of self-sacrifice—to offer Sanctuary For All.

And Helen Magnus knew in her immortal heart that it would always be like this. The Magnus family; strong and always grounded. And forever—rooted in love.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Nikola Tesla had always revered his best friend Helen Magnus though immortality hadn't always been so kind.

He stood leaning against the stone frame of the library's shattered window. Colored stained glass pieces speckled the wooden floor boards while some small shards still pointed upwards from its once stone set sill foundation.

Sunlight reflected brightly over the powdery snow blanketed across the lawn as the midday sky revealed a bright shade of blue. Nikola brushed a patch of scattered glass from the framework with a handkerchief and perched his forearms outwards. He leaned forward slightly tipping over and stared down at a small puddle of black liquid frozen into a glossy oily contrast. He hadn't a clue what it was but life at the Old City Sanctuary was strange at times. As was its residents.

After staring at the substance for a long moment a rush of cold air blew its way into the library causing him to close his eyes and remember back to the night he programed the EM Server to send a recognizable EM signature into its shield.

Nikola opened his eyes again as the chilling breeze quickly faded leaving him to experience a floating feeling fluttering in his head, almost dizzying. It truly was an incredible feeling—for his competitive brilliance, yet sensitive egocentric nature had been left on the front line to save Helen's daughter. He had never felt so appreciated and important as he did now.

He let out a heavy sigh and stepped back from the open window crunching his shoes over the broken colored glass. He glanced down and fumbled with his shirt and pulled down the corners of his silver vest; a man always appearing as the adorable, neatly dressed and very fashionable Vampire that he was. Especially from an era of respectable gentlemen that was never lost on him; whatever century he was in.

He had to admit, it was nice to be back at the Old City Sanctuary. He really did love being here. He loved the wondrous history— the close kept memories from many lifetimes. He always felt welcomed here. For the most part at least he thought. But mostly; he enjoyed visiting because it was Helen's home and when he was here he felt needed, like he was the center of her known universe.

Butterflies promised to spring free from his stomach as his heart strings for her knotted in his gut. He sighed to himself under his breath again; realizing in all honesty; he was a love sick huggybear.

Eternal remembrances so clear and permanent quietly stirred into an inner stabbing current through his heart knowing his admiration towards Helen had truly never been in question for over a century; a kinetic-like unrequited love on his end still burning its want from his lonely heart.

His feelings for her could have been scripted from a tale of a Shakespearean playbook—only to close its pages to John's feat of at last, finding freedom from his devil.

But as much as it broke his immortal heart learning that John and her had rekindled their passion for each other as of late; she was still his closest friend—a friend that he would stand beside for every day that he walked the Earth.

As the thought lingered he kept his eyes to his wardrobe as he began rolling the left sleeve up to button the end of his light blue oxford shirt. He was wearing a pair of fashioned silver cuffs crafted into the shape of infinity. It was a gift from Helen. Sent to him not long after their time in Vienna.

"I had a run in with myself. Went full HAP and almost froze my naked self."

Nikola turned his head to find Henry walking through the doorway holding a small black device. He smirked at the scruffy chap and his big yellow sweatshirt. Even from this distance he could see the discoloration and black stained markings along the sleeves. No matter what Henry chose to wear; he still always looked like a college kid to him.

"Come again," questioned Nikola as he began walking over to a large mahogany table Henry was nearing.

"We had a break out in the Magoi habitat. It was a face off and I'm not talking hockey." He walked in with a slight but noticeable limp and waved the little tablet to gesture hello.

Nikola returned a toothy smile. "Johnny boy failed to inform me of that side note," he added with a hint of curiosity. He could never imagine fighting with himself in delusional imagery? It just wasn't normal? But he wasn't normal. However immortality did promise a future of many unforeseen encounters. Maybe one day he would get a chance to delve into the dimension of the Twilight Zone of doppelgangers.

Nikola gave a soft exhale and crossed his arms to his chest as he closed the distance between them. So many feelings were spinning in his head and it was hard to quiet the unbelievable one pounding its truth against his heart. "I'm still trying to process the part where Ashley is alive."

Henry grinned exposing all white teeth through his battered and sutured bruised face. Even now his enthusiasm and appreciative spirit could not be caged in. Henry raised his arms up a little careful not to rip his bandaged shoulders and stopped in front of Nikola. "Dude I'm going to hug you. And if you bite me I will eat you."

Nikola grunted in subtle annoyance. He wasn't the touchy feely type nor did he give man hugs. But it was an occasion that deep down in his immortal soul he knew his efforts had defied all they knew of the scientific law's governing the world. "Two second rule wolf boy or I will eat you. And that shirt thing better be clean."

Henry hugged him and Nikola counted aloud. "One..."

"Two," Henry chimed in a heartfelt huff as he leaned away quick but still so happy to thank the man that defied Tempus himself. Lowering his head he stared down to his chest at the black smears stretching in every direction across his faded sweatshirt. "And as for my vintage Comic con sweatshirt that I proudly wear; it's clean. Just lived in."

"God you must have been a dirty little child," Nikola enquired as he brushed his vest down with a white handkerchief he had pulled out from his vest pocket.

"Yeah, the Big Guy's nickname for me when I was young pretty much summed that up."

Nikola inspected his linen white hanky flipping it over to check each side for any spec of stray dirt. "Please pray tell Tiny Tim."

Henry pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. "Mogli. And don't laugh."

Nikola flashed another wide grin of teeth as he pocketed his hanky. He kindly refused to continue their smirking battle of wits. It would be fun to patronize the HAP but the focus was on Helen and Ashley. He hadn't forgotten that. Or his place in returning a life that was stolen.

He reached for the black shiny tablet and waved his hands over it initializing the device with his Abnormal ability. "If only H. G. Wells knew of this. He'd have an aneurism."

Nikola's words were heavy with awe and well, a humbled respect for Helen's plan. His heart also seemed to flutter wildly as if a winged creature begged release from inside his chest. For years Nikola had wondered what it was he had been chosen to fulfill that night Ashley teleported into oblivion forever—what it was that had Helen was risking against an unknown event she was attempting to amend.

He had believed she had traveled back into the past to that very moment to ask for his help. It was only a few months ago he had learned that it was her time in seclusion in which she had come to him. And its ramifications had his thoughts reeling in every direction learning that Helen's plan had succeeded with his help.

Oh he couldn't wait to see Helen again knowing all that he did now. He felt redeemed from having failed—he had pined away, pushing his brilliant mind to the end of his inventive nature to battle those long hours to create the best of weapons to counteract the Cabal's threshold of experiments against Ashley. Only this time, his assistance helped bring her back to Helen. And that very thought alone kept a grin painted to his aristocratic soul.

"H.G. Wells would not have such words to describe the story of our lives. Perhaps the great Conan Doyle?" John Druitt answered in a rumble.

Both Henry and Nikola looked to the voice entering the large room. He nodded to them as he walked over. "Will and Big boy just got off the phone with Declan on a conference call. He has been told of Helen's disappearance but not of Ashley's return. The Network believes a non-combative resident accidently teleported them off the grid."

"Good," added Henry. "The world doesn't need to know about Ashley. Hell we're having enough problems with SCIU and their merry band of Abnormal hunters. The longer we can keep Ashley under the radar the better."

"Hm," hummed Druitt. He would rather die than let any harm come to his daughter again. Or his family for that fact. SCIU were like vultures waiting to strike anywhere they feel is a threat. Especially one engineered by the Cabal.

"Not to worry Mr. Foss. As far as we know our little secret is safe."

Henry returned an acknowledging nod.

"Tesla my dear boy," he continued with Nikola in absolute blithe, "this is such an event that cannot be summed up with words. And we are all eternally grateful for your choice to assist Helen that night."

"I spent the last few years..." Nikola looked up from the colored holographic image of Ashley's DNA. "Years," he stated again, "wondering what it was Helen was asking of me that night. Why it was so important to her that she would risk the balance of time itself? I always wanted to know the reason."

John smiled clearly fighting back encroaching tears as he placed a hand to Nikola's shoulder. "The love of a mother. We'll just leave it at that."

Nikola sat motionless in silent understanding. He lowered his eyes back to the colored spectrum spinning slowly as it hovered over the device.

"Hey," Henry enquired getting Nikola's attention. "We still have family reunion to bring home," he reminded them. He reached in the pocket of his white scrub pants and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to John.

John took it and opened it to read the printed information. "I assume you searched the most accessible and obvious places first online."

"Yep," Henry said. "I've been checking all security feeds from every Sanctuary to see if Ashley teleported them there. Hallways, rooms, and even the habitants like I did here. Since Ashley's return Helen instructed all Sanctuaries to lower their EM Shields. I also made a list of certain locations that were important to both Helen and Ash just in case they jumped there." He pointed at the paper John was holding.

John read the first location, "Italy," he rumbled curiously.

"Yes, Magnus has a villa there. Ashley has been there a couple times. Also, the catacombs in Rome where you and her teleported in to find Magnus a few years back," Henry arched his eyebrows to Nikola in remembrance of their run in with the Cabal tactical unit. Nikola just returned an innocent smug of a wide grin then waved his hand over the tablet to change to another segment of Ashley's genome.

"Alright," John nodded, "I shall keep you apprised of anything I find." He was urgent in his words clearly expressing his adamancy in beginning his search.

"Same here," Henry answered back.

John bowed slightly and disappeared into a blur of red matter.

"So this is Gregory's little tablet," he stated rhetorically as he waved his fingers in midair once more just above the black shiny surface. He didn't need to touch the screen. His electromagnetic abilities allowed him to access the power unit, and read it like a book from the inside. Just like he had done with Sanc team when they encountered the hidden Cabal lab intertwined within an underground cave system.

"So dude, how soon can you piece together what the Cabal did to Ashley with these new blood samples?"

Nikola met Henry's questioned look with a lip curling smirk of inward self-acknowledging brilliance. "My boy, I think I may have a few pieces of the puzzle."

Henry frowned. "That fast?"

"Fascinating," Nikola acknowledged honestly focusing intently on Ashley's DNA spinning its helix foundations beneath his fingers.

"Fascinating good or fascinating bad?" Henry cautiously enquired.

Nikola ran his hand through his short spikey hair and continued to smirk at the colored glowing hues. "Fascinating in a way I think I have a theory. This substance," he waved his hand over the screen to change the hovering image to another figure of the Sanguine Vampiric cells. "This fluid that John and Gregory spoke of; it looks like a protein. It also looks incredibly similar to the Lazarus Virus."

"So what does that tell us?"

"It may suggest that there was a mutation of the Lazarus virus—after the Cabal injected Ashley with the Source Blood."

"You're saying that the protein that attacked her Sanguine cells _was_ the Lazarus Virus?"

"Not all of it, just a certain percentage. The Cabal must have not taken into account side effects from having Ashley exposed to the Lazarus Virus before they captured her. They probably hypothesized that the Source Blood would be strong enough to counter effect any prior exposure to all virus; genetically natural or Cabal synthesized."

Henry's mouth slacked agape. "Holy crap in a bag."

Nikola's blue eyes widened. "Indeed. We are looking at a rare mutation that leaves dormant the Sanguine Vampiris genes."

Nikola took his eyes off the revolving 3D image and flashed another signature adorable Tesla quirk of a grin. "The Cabal were as dumb as their backwards intentions for world dominance. Even I saw a possibility of some stray effects of their Virus having complications in the super Abnormals. I just never expected that it would play out in Ashley this way. But this," Nikola waved his hand across the tablet again bringing up another set of genes, which he cross sectioned to study it further. "Why would the bastards do this?"

"Ah, do what," Henry asked impatiently.

Nikola gave a condescending squint of blue eyes to the idea of the Cabal's genetic tactics as he stared harder at the screen, "this genetic sequence, here," he pointed to a singled out area of the DNA strand that was blinking blue, "this is a genetic code for highly sensitive eyesight. Like that of a feline." Nikola's soft eyes followed the dancing spectrum of DNA before looking deeper into the holographic structure once more. It made sense now.

Henry pleaded, almost through a closed lip whine, "dude come on. In English please."

"Do you remember when Ashley and the super Abnormal gang attacked us; their eyes were yellow?"

Henry blinked his eyes to the memory. "I try not to."

"Well, the lenses were manipulated to randomly coincide when the super Abnormals Vamped out; giving them the best advantage to their environment."

"Man, if I have to ask again what this means." Henry was growing increasing worried and his anxiety made its presence known as he stood from his chair taking the tablet out of the vampire's hand.

Nikola Tesla smiled an innocent grin, revealing that his next statement would harbor no threat to Ashley's life. "My dear lichen all I'm saying is that one change the Cabal made to Ashley is still active. "

* * *

><p>Ashley Magnus wasn't about to be defeated by a large slab of Cabal engineered titanium.<p>

_What's with this place anyways _Ashley calculated looking at the nearly indestructible surface. Did the Cabal want this underground science lab to counter as a missile silo? What on Earth was so dangerous that they needed a fortress beneath them? _Oh right_ Ashley realized thinking to herself; m_e and the rest of the lab rats they poked and prodded. _Too bad her Sanguine genes laid dormant. She was thinking of how long it would take to slice through the elevator doors.

However, she did wish she had an industrial sized light source, a satellite phone that could penetrate solid matter, and a pulley winch to pry open the elevator doors that she was tirelessly attempting to part open.

But really, Ashley had lost track of how many elevator doors she had electronically rigged to override security protocols, blasted open leaving shards of concrete in her wake, and melted walls of dripping metal as she forged ahead on her missions with her brother in arms Henry Foss.

Missions. How many did she miss? How many stories will Henry proudly recall second by second in the next couple months now that Ashley Magnus was back? Too many to count she thought but she just couldn't wait to curl up by the fireside in her mother's study only to engross herself in detailed descriptions of Abnormal journeys near and far- above and beyond. The daily routines and mission briefings were almost always told beside a burning fire with a hot cup of tea in Helen's office. It had always been that way. And it will be again.

Speaking of fire. Hell if she had any C4 they would have been blown a passageway out over an hour ago. Assuming of course the elevator shaft had an inside wall mounted ladder. A ladder leading to freedom by means of a ventilation system in the direction to the rooftop.

But on the other hand Ashley doubted OSHA made occasional drop-ins at Cabal facilities to oversee safety protocols and clear access exits. Ashley just knew there wasn't going to be a shiny ladder on the other side of the doors. But if anything—it kept her busy such as it was. She was tired of sitting in the darkness and walking around waving their tiny light in search of impossible access routes on solid concrete walls.

Outside the facility, the dark sky was lit by moonlight against a forefront of fading grey clouds. Above the trailing winds scattered and parted the broken rains clouds into feathered wisps as each dissipated into the distance.

A few stray stars twinkled in the heavens like tiny diamonds as if they were fighting to reveal themselves against the bright glow from the moon. No traffic noise disturbed the surrounding environment. No main highways were close by. Only neighboring dirt roads which only outside eyes could see. The facility was an empty lifeless recess of a building resembling a once thriving oil refinery. And Ashley smirked a grin in the darkness knowing that this place was dead to the world. Her family had destroyed the remnants of it all. Even if there were subsidiaries of such an organization; they were too few to count on one hand. Ashley laughed inwardly at the thought. If they even had hands left intact. John Druitt was a very creative man.

Helen was situated on the floor a few feet from Ashley with a pile of colored wires intertwined in her hands. Ashley had broken free the outer casing frame from the elevator's control panel. The rogue piece of broken arm chair was Ashley's tool for anything and everything she could think of right now.

Helen had pulled out the electronic wires; numerous thin colored cables twisted in her hands without a simple current of electricity running through them. She knew it was useless to try and rig a miracle but what else could they do being trapped in an underground basement.

Ashley glanced down at her mother and caught her staring up at her.

"What?" Ashley said flashing a curious smile.

Helen had been quiet for a while. They had both been immersed into their own mini missions to discover means of a way out that conversation had fallen short.

Helen lowered the small end pile of wires into her lap. "You."

Helen didn't need to explain for Ashley had noticed her mom out of the corner of her eye for the past hour watching her. Observing her as if she was a ghost.

"I never explained to you the whole story of how I brought you into the world," Helen told her.

Ashley let the frown fade and smirked playfully. She did know. "You froze me. Then thawed me out."

Helen laughed at her remark. "Cheeky you are. I wish it would have been that easy."

Ashley took her left hand from the metal bar spaced between a small crevice of the elevator doors and stretched out her arm.

"My hopes and dreams for what I could give you in life revolved around a discovery I made from my own blood." Helen patted the concrete floor beside her inviting Ashley to sit beside her. Ashley slid slowly down against the doors and rested quietly.

"You see," she continued, "I had samples of blood from the servants who lived at my home. I was curious to the effects of how the plasma, not the blood, would affect a normal person's genetics. So I spun down my blood and injected it into the samples."

"What happened?" Ashley was more than intrigued. She was well versed in the basics of biology and chemistry. She had dealt with it on a daily basis for most her life. But this was completely new to her.

"I discovered that the plasma kept the cells from dying."

"Dying? How?"

"I don't quite know to be honest. During the years I helped my father with his research we used dry ice to preserve the blood samples from our experiments. I learned quickly that after adding my own plasma to the blood samples it kept them alive as well. A sort of suspended animation that was more viable than liquid nitrogen. One hundred percent of the cells survived intact without loss of structure from exposure to my plasma. Shortly after I discovered this I found out I was pregnant with you."

Ashley just kept her blue eyes wide carefully taking in every word her mother spoke.

"My first thought was to keep you alive by keeping the embryo frozen. But I was quite scared of how long it was going to be possible. Medical science was in its beginnings and we were the only ones forging ahead into a realm the world had yet to uncover. So my father and I formulated a plan in hopes that it would keep you alive for a much longer time." Helen just never believed in how long it would finally take her to feel safe enough to bring her into the world.

Ashley continued to sit quietly pondering of how she would have felt if she had lived her mother's life. Her choices. Her incredible hopes and darkest fears. She wondered if she could have been as strong as her.

"You see Ashley," she whispered as her thoughts trailed off for a moment. Her words were shaky as if her words would break or become lost if she spoke too loud. But she only smiled once she found the strength to find them again. "With the aid of my father he helped remove the embryo and afterwards I injected my plasma around the cells. Lastly I placed the vial within a densely packed container of liquid nitrogen. Your survival was the most important thing in my life. It still is. And the moment I sealed the container shut having taken both measures to keep you alive," she paused in thought again trying to find the right words then began again when Ashley reached over to hold her hand. "Every day after that was almost unbearable. To know that my child was literally being suspended within the hands of science was one of the scariest times of my life."

Ashley squeezed her mother's hand. "So what does this mean? That I was born an Abnormal in some way."

Helen shook her head. "Your checkups never showed any side effects of being exposed to the plasma. You were the healthiest child I've ever known. I can't even remember the last time you were sick." Well she could. The Lazarus Virus. But that was unnatural causes. "So I just accepted that you were going to be fine."

"And I am," Ashley grinned back in a whisper as she tried to reassure her mom's lingering worries. Whatever they are. "Everything is going to be okay."

Ashley's soft words echoed in the shadows and Helen again took in her daughter's face; bruises and sutures and lazy eyelids from all that she had endured. But her daughter had never looked so beautiful.

"I only hope to be half the mom you are one day. You're the strongest person I know. I never would have been able to do what you did. God mom you're like mother of the year. Every day."

As Ashley revealed her hope and unbridled fear of not being able to be the mother she is; Helen understood her daughter more than she would ever truly know. It was Ashley that made her strong. Her precious offspring born from her love of John Druitt that had been entangled up in humanity's fight for freedom from all that threatened to oppress—a child that her world revolved around.

Helen held her daughter's hand in hers and smiled as a blur of memories surfaced from the day Ashley was born. "What have I always told you? You were always the strongest. Not me. You could always deal better with life than I ever could. Having you changed all that. You gave me a sense of purpose in a time I felt lost. It was you that made me a better person. Without you...," she stopped waited for her emotions to settle then released one hand to cradle her cheek. "Ashley without you all the joys of my life would have been half lived."

Ashley's composure continued to gradually falter. But even in the hollowed darkness and dim light from the iPhone Helen's heart found solace in seeing her daughter's bright blue eyes full of life. A vivid tangible reminder of family. Eyes that for twenty three years; reminded her of John.

"If I am the strongest, then why am I the one crying," Ashley admitted softly in a hiccupped laugh.

Ashley then leaned in closer and reached out to her mom with her good arm to embrace her. She closed her tired eyes to its comfort as Helen gently wrapped her arms around her careful not to hug too tight. Ashley also remembered something else that made the moment even more precious.

"I can't even begin to think of what it was like for you to relive those years without me. Each day. Every year. I know if I was there I would have followed you through that man's time portal. I know it was so hard," she cried into the sleeve of her mother's scrub shirt. "But I just want to say something now that I hope can make up for not being able to be there for you."

To Helen Magnus it was as if the world had never pivoted off kilter on its axis or turned completely upside down. It was as if she was living through a day in which the Earth stood still. Resetting the days going back to the start. To give her back the time and life that was taken.

Such bands of love and family traverse across the vastness of space and between the sacred layers of time. Even Einstein couldn't fathom an equation quite like it.

Ashley's firm grip around her mother's shoulders only pulled her closer. "I love you so much. Always and always. And I know the day has come and gone for this year, but... I just want to say, Happy Mother's Day."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

John had scoured every destination in mind and from Henry's list. In just a few hours he had traveled the four corners of the world. Acute hours of jumping here and there, near and far hoping for a fleeting glimpse. A clue bearing the smallest lead to where they may had gone. He had searched through humid rainforests and corner streets occupied by Folding Men. A warehouse that was once temporary housing for one giant ant humanoid was also empty of their presence as was the one he had confronted Ashley for the first time. John even teleported into Helen's research submarine to look for them. No destination was too far to travel, or too odd to look through. The ancient crypts in Scotland were all but an evening snowy venture, barren. Winter had stripped the branches bare leaving its environment to wash out any color of life. The landscape fit the aura of it perfectly and his mood. John didn't like feeling so damn helpless. Not like this. With such a powerful gift it still wasn't enough to bring his family home. But he never gave into thinking the worst. He pressed on. Desperately calling out their names, teleporting all around the Celtic island. Like he had done the world. Where could they be, he wished he knew.

He would continue to search. Yes, every step, every jump there is still hope though he was feeling sleep deprived now, exhaustion haunting. Almost begging him to stop. Teleporting had never been done on this magnitude before. He needed to rest. Just needed to take a breather and think.

Normandy was usually much colder than Old City this time of year.

But not tonight. The open shoreline John was walking along was calm and without its harsh wind or bone icy chill. Only a graceful wafty breeze blowing off the Western Atlantic coast. It was of course cold, but not uncomfortable.

John breathed against the inner lining of his black wool collar and watched his warm breath carry in the moonlight. His fashionable knee length wool coat was buttoned to the collar line. Each deep pocket was filled with a gloved hand as he slowly strolled the frozen sandy tundra. His chin and half his face tucked comfortably beneath its knitted lamb's wool.

The stars against the darkened ether were so intense—twinkling their fiery white lifelines across the expanse of time. John breathed out again raising his light eyes to the sky. The heavenly stars seemed too close for reality—as if he could reach up and take one spirited light to cradle caringly into his hands. Gravity rolled in the crashing waves that kissed the corners of his leather booted soles. A few seconds later the tide pulled back in a waterly lap taking the encroaching wash with it. Like a silvery mirror the water reflected a thin shiny veil even with the partial moon peeking above the distant unseen horizon that seemed to stretch on forever.

He and Helen had taken many walks along this very beach during their time in seclusion. Having lived through World Wars and seeing its mindless fury, it was a nice reminder to come back to it and take appreciation for having survived through it. Twice. Helen had talked about Ashley more when they were here. Their journeys together. Small mother and daughter moments when Ashley was growing up. The more she spoke about her past as a mother the more he realized it was Ashley that kept her grounded through the chaos of Sanctuary life. Why she spoke more of those moments here, he didn't know why. Maybe it represented something to her? Or maybe being in the presence of so much death and suffering opened her heart to what really mattered the most to her.

The unending love for her daughter.

* * *

><p>Helen could barely make out her daughter's almost hidden shadow fading in and out around her. In silence she watched Ashley strategically making her rounds again taking up a small patrol along the tall gray walls surrounding them. She wouldn't go far, only scouting out every uneven surface of concrete in search of a weak point for any means of escape. Ashley followed every crevice and shady discoloration embedded within the concrete walls. Every now and again as Helen sat idle with her bundle of electronic wires in her lap, she would hear her groan in agitation then resume her route circling again the small circumference around their location. It made her smile.<p>

The offset glow from the iPhone undoubtedly only giving her a small lit area to work with but her daughter stayed focused on her patrolling path of possible leads to freedom. Ever the constant, battle ready warrior that was Ashley Magnus.

Helen momentarily returned her attention back to the coiled wires between her fingers. Any attempt to ignite some sort of spark had failed. At best she'd believed she had a chance to open the elevator doors by means of forced entry. Energy like electricity can sometimes be stored along the circuit boards. Sort of like dormant genes waiting to turn on. But she had attached every end of each colored wire back and forth then back again into the circuit board. Perhaps it was time for a Plan B. Hope and wait for John to find them. At least that was Helen's plan. Knowing her daughter she wouldn't be surprised if she began chiseling out a tunnel with the broken piece of chair metal.

Helen sighed an exasperated hiss letting twisted wires bunch into her fisted hands. God this would have been a lot less trying if Henry was here. Backup power sources were a given and mandatory on his check list of Foss gadgets. She leaned her shoulders back to rest her head onto the cold titanium behind her.

"Oi," came the British lilt of self-defeat.

Ashley paused her patrolling rotation for a brief moment, stopping in front of the chair. Hearing her mother's protested annoyance she guessed the inevitable Magnus plan had failed. She had been wondering how long it was going to take her to end the wiring prospect of escape. With her back to her mother she still felt her mother's eyes watching over her. Like they had been since they arrived here. It made her smile.

"Mom, I know what you're thinking," she murmured just loud enough to let her voice carry.

"Hm," Helen replied tossing her bundle of colored wires down to rest on her crossed ankles. If there was any chance of that Helen reminded herself again, three years would have made any stored energy inert. But it helped pass the time and made her feel like she was contributing part of a plan to get them out while all along trying to reframe from the little voice in her head that was Nikola Tesla; telling her that 'those tiny wires are useless without him and his magnanimous gift'. She could almost see him grinning wildly with hands on his hips protesting her attempts without him.

Releasing a small quick sigh she wiped off her palms along her knees to clean off the grit from unraveling dusty old wires and took to her feet. "What am I thinking," she smiled softly taking her first steps, waving the iPhone's light up towards Ashley as she neared her.

Ashley turned slowly and leaned back into the arm rest portion of the chair. Facing into the light she blinked her tired eyes, squinting them slightly closed then batted away the small light as if it was a tangible force. "You're thinking I am going to disappear on you again."

"Ah," mused Helen in an agreeing nod as she placed down her iPhone onto the seat of the black chair. Taking a stand next to her she folded her arms across her chest and gently leaned into her left shoulder. "The thought has crossed my mind."

"And you're wondering how we will find you if that happens? If only I make it out and find a way to contact everyone."

Helen wanted to reassure her that even though an unknown amount of miles separated them from their Sanctuary home, their extended family is working out possible solutions. "I have all the faith that the boys are searching for us now..." she answered not taking her eyes off her as Ashley stared hard at the elevator doors. "That they have put together some sort of search plan. No doubt Henry is the ring leader of such an effort."

Ashley blinked hard fighting against her lazy eyes. "But what if I lose it? Go all loopy on you again?"

"If it makes you feel any better we'll just stay close. If you have another episode I'll be right here with you," she said softly.

Ashley tried her best to down play her reaction without sounding condescending. "Right. Looks like I got a fast car without cruise control. Peachy."

Helen couldn't help but snort a laugh. As did Ashley. She unfolded her arms and stepped aside to face her daughter. Ashley eyed her expecting some long drawn out speech. Just like the times before she would go hunt down some weird Abnormal creature prowling through sewers or during her mid night Silvio weapons deal. A mother's loving advice she guessed—the forever protective force in her life. It used to bother her growing up. Her mother seemed to have a pulse on her wherever she would roam. It created a rebellious side to her. A craving for freedom which is why she loved her bike so much. It was like having wings and at times during her upbringing she felt like her mother's overbearing nature would only clip them. Funny how youth perceives the bonds of motherhood.

But she was Helen Magnus' daughter with the determination and willful nature that was so inherent. And yet, for some reason Ashley didn't protest with an eye roll or through an aggravated sigh. She let that inner defensive wall crumble down. She wasn't that little rebellious girl anymore. Well, she was still Ashley Magnus but the last few days of her life; days that were linked along the bands of time, suddenly made her aware of the delicate balance of her life that had been weaved so carefully between centuries of hope. She was still coming to grips with that. And her immediate gift of immortality.

As she followed her mother's hovering gaze carefully looking over her face she noticed they looked different. Her blue eyes seemed more heavy. Perhaps with empathy. But she wasn't sure.

"You will learn," she encouraged honestly keeping her voice easy. "John is a testament to his gift. As is Nikola, as was James and Nigel."

Ashley was so preoccupied with their situation she hadn't even noticed Helen's past tense when speaking about James.

Ashley was quiet for a moment as she lowered her eyes thinking about the Vampire that had made everything possible. Seconds later she looked back to her mother. "Nikola. Oh yeah, our Mr. Button pusher to your Back to the Future device," she smiled. "Remind me to hug that skinny man next time I see him."

Helen offered an endearing nod. She would never forget what Nikola had done. Nor let him forget it either.

"But maybe the guys won't have to wait much longer," Ashley said obviously enthralled about something.

Helen's eyes focused harder on Ashley's expression and immediately noticed the glimmering spark in her daughter's blue eyes, the— 'I know something you don't know' look. Helen flashed an inquisitive smile. She could tell Ashley was inwardly impatient, almost mirroring a youthful face; one that was seconds away from revealing she had broken something fragile, old or massively large. She had something important to tell her.

Ashley parted her lips into a grin and paused before she spoke, slacking her jaw in her proud realization. Helen bit down on the corner of her lip in attempts to not let out a building giggle. The youthful smile gracing her daughter's face changed slightly to reflect innocence in excitement. One similar to her most favorite, most precious facial tick Ashley would give her when she was very young. The, 'I made something for you or I have a surprise for you' grin.

Ashley flushed a proud grin with cheeks wide. "Goosebumps."

"Goosebumps?"

Helen watched her blue eyes dance with life as if they were filled with pages upon pages of stories to tell. Again, it was a kind reminder of the early days in Ashley's life when she would literally bounce on her little toes wanting to share her experience of a fascinating event that occurred while feeding or taking care of one of the docile Abnormals in their care.

Ashley continued. "It's happened every time I teleported and didn't realize it until now. Goosebumps," she smiled once more with the recognized sensation. "I get them after I teleport and even before."

Helen immediately went into scientist mode, calculating why this could be happening. It didn't take long for her to theorize a reason. Being a member of The Five and studying both Nikola's exploits and John's reaction to the Source Blood; she surmised the most plausible cause. "It may be some sort of release of the static charge that accompanies the teleport. We still don't understand the varying physics that cause such a transfer of atoms to a dematerialized state. But it could well be an electrical surge of sorts."

"I knew you would say that," Ashley stated raising her left arm to study the skin on her forearm intently. Blue eyes detailed the length of her exposed skin from the edge of her white scrub sleeve down to her fingers. "And most of the time I get some sort of flashback before the teleport. It happened with Gregory and back at home. But not every time like when I jumped into the past."

"I think that the more you start to remember the less the flashbacks will cause your unstable teleporting. But we'll find a way to manage it," Helen reassured her. "I will get Henry to create a tracking bracelet for you to wear. That way we'll have a location on you if this happens again."

Ashley rolled her fingers along her knuckles and closed her hand in a loose fist. "Tracking bracelet huh."

"Ah, but Henry is a master craftsman," Helen added. "I'm sure he can make it stylish."

Ashley glanced down to her pale wrist and imagined what the tracking device would look like. "Has to be black or red. If it's pinky pink I'm chaining him into the SHU."

Helen gave a soft squeeze to her shoulder as they giggled in unison. She then turned and reached for the still glowing iPhone behind them. "There might be a small chink in the armor for such a plan." Helen sidestepped around Ashley to push herself up to sit on the edge of the chair. "Henry has control now."

A sutured eyebrow rose. Ashley turned to completely face her mother. "What," she asked excited at the possible truth of Henry finally gaining control of his Abnormal abilities. "My Henry overcoming the big bad inner wolf!"

"He sure did. We even discovered more HAPS. In England no less," she voiced with much enthusiasm. "But I know there is so much he wants to tell you. I'll leave the rest for Henry."

"Seriously! Holy crap that's awesome!" Even in the dark light Helen saw her daughter's bright eyes beam with sibling pride. "What's next?" She countered just as quick as her first response. "Let me guess? Henry has a girlfriend too?" Ashley giggled humorously at her own quip. If she only knew.

"As I said Henry has much to tell you. I have no doubt the two of you will be locked in conversation for weeks to come once we get back home. It may well become impossible to pry you two away from each other. We all have so much to share with you," she ended smiling. She just couldn't wait for Ashley to learn of her new Sanctuary and the decades filled with meticulous planning to hold its wonders, beauty, and the sacred secrets hidden within its walls.

"Here," Helen encouraged with a light tug at Ashley's wrist. "Take a load off, up you go."

Ashley hesitated for just a brief second then agreed to rest her legs. She had been on her feet for quite a while. "Sounds like a plan," she grunted as Helen helped her to sit up beside her.

"Careful," Helen noted as Ashley gingerly slid sideways into the back rest. She could see Ashley's grimacing, obviously still hurting from their fall from midair.

Huffiing through a little smile Ashley sighed, "Ah it's nothing. Me and Henry used to sling climbing rope around the entry chandelier and swing down from the top of the stairs. I've busted my butt more times than I can remember. This is a cake walk." Keeping a smile she pulled in her knees sideways to fit comfortably. Once she relaxed she exhaled a laugh letting her arm fall to her lap. "By the way, welcome to the love seat from hell."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Helen agreed as she too laughed. She loved Ashley's comical spirit which had been so apparant in her youth. Even before Ashley could mutter her first words there had been this intuitive nature that she possessed. Laughter in the Sanctuary had been a blessing between them both. And it was also her daughter's giggles that was missed so much.

Ashley wrinkled her nose. "Seriously mom? Why did we believe we could open those elevator doors?"

Helen smirked cheekily as her lips lifted the corner of her mouth. "I was betting on luck"

"Luck," Ashley giggled nonchalantly leaning her head back into the chair. This was going to be fun she thought. "When have you ever bet on anything." It was an innocent question.

Helen raised her eyes to her question. "Horses."

Ashley returned a curious glare, confused. "Horses?"

Helen smiled as she admitted her once occasional pastime. "It's true."

"Why have I never heard of this?"

"It was ages ago. John and I would bet on the races back when we lived in London." She paused. Then spoke again. "The first time around," she laughed. After all; they had lived through history twice. "Every Saturday morning at the Chelsea racing track. It was during our courtship days."

"Courtship? Oh that's epic," Ashley told her jokingly rolling her eyes. "Why can't you just say dating."

Helen mused at her daughter's jovial attitude. "It was the 1800s," she defended warmly, "dating wasn't really a modernized word of the time. John had to call on me; by coming to the door to ask permission from my father. I always stood behind the door listening, watching John fidget. It was monumental."

"Ha! I would have paid big money to see that." Ashley spoke through a wave of giggles. "Gregory must have had him squirming in his pants."

"My father was veryintimidating. He was a very gifted surgeon of his time. One of the best. Not to mention his overprotective nature over me."

"I always wondered where you got that from." Ashley replied in a low voice flashing a goofy smile.

"Ah, well my father wanted to know every detail of our plans for an outing. He would greet John at the door, allow him entrance and offer him a cup of tea. I would stand just outside the door watching my father play at John's nerves."

Even in the low light from the iPhone Ashley could see the love pouring from her mother's blue eyes. She really had never stopped loving John Druitt.

"So how long did it take for Gregory to actually trust dad?"

A slight shrug lifted Helen's shoulders. "To this day I don't think he really ever did. John and I had our ways of outsmarting him. So we thought. We didn't always arrive at our promised destinations."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree huh." Ashley hinted. "Remember when I first got my bike? I would tell you that I would be meeting Silvio for like updates on tech stuff and new weaponry?"

Helen knowingly smiled "I do."

"Yeah, well that wasn't _always _true," Ashley admitted with a trace of self-guilt.

"Ashley Emilie Magnus. I'm shocked." It was Helen's best attempt at pretending this was new knowledge.

Ashley raised her eyes. "You knew?"

Helen gave a gentle tap to Ashley's knee. "I'm your mother. It was my duty to know where you were. At all times."

"But. How?"

"Henry would follow you."

"You had Henry on babysitting duty," she asked. Surprised.

"I knew from the moment you were born, if you were anything like me. I'd have my hands full."

Ashley looked away shaking her head. "Wow. I'm embarrassed."

Helen couldn't stop smiling. "Don't be. Just look at Henry as being your back-up."

"Back-up? Aw man," Ashley protested. "I never dated bad guys. I could always take care of myself."

"Henry and I just wanted to make sure you were safe. Comes with the territory. You are my only child and Henry is your big brother in a sense."

"Yeah and after my boyfriends met him I really never saw them again. That's why I had secret dates. Jeez I can barely count the number of guys I've dated on one hand because of that. God I'm gonna kill Henry."

Helen raised her shoulders in an innocent shrug.

"It wasn't like I was going to elope or anything. I'd just take my boyfriend up to Dead Bridge. That was the cool thing back then. Seriously? You had Henry after me for just that."

Helen shook her head again giggling, "Ashley, as long as I knew you were safe I could go about my work without worrying about you."

"So that's why you were always up whenever I got home. Like at 3am? I thought you were just working. You were waiting on me?"

Helen bit at the corner of her lip. "Could you blame me?"

Ashley didn't know whether to laugh or not. So she turned her attention back to Henry. "That doesn't mean I will let Henry get off scot free. Man when I see him again I am going to ring his neck Homer Simpson style. He never told me he was on stalker duty."

"Did you know he would bring a taser with him?"

A tilt of her head forward Ashley glared her annoyance at Henry's preparedness. It was almost corny. "Good lord. He was _that_ worried?"

Helen counterd in Henry's brotherly defense. "He was just _that_ protective over you."

Ashley let that simple thought settle deeper into her heart. Knowing him he must have never let her out of his sights. Knowing now that he had always been close by, warmed her heart even more. "Aw crap," she admitted softly. "Maybe I should let him off easy."

"Your call."

Ashley thought for a second. _Too many variables. _"The jury is still out on that. If I find out he had binoculars, all bets are off."

Helen laughed at the image of younger Henry blinking through a pair of binoculars from inside the van from a neighboring street.

"Jeez mom, knowing him he probably had some freaking self-created Foss man telescope."

Laughter ignited again and Ashley thought for a split second that her mother was going to giggle her way off the chair. She couldn't remember seeing her mother laugh so hard. Or mayber she could? Biggie had once found himself locked out of the Sanctuary. _Naked_.

Helen would never admit how much fun she was having right now. Both of them smarting off as if they had never lived a day without each other.

When Helen finally found her breath she continued on Henry's behalf. "He is quite resourceful you know."

"Henry's hard core," Ashley said keeping her hand over her stomach as she tried to gain her breaths from laughing so hard. "I wouldn't put in past him."

Beep. Beep.

Beep. Beep.

"Bloody ages!"

Ashley's focus fell to the IPhone as it beeped a warning sound. "Crap! Battery is dying."

As soon as she let her last words trail off into silence a flash of white burned deep behind her eyes. As if tiny piercing needles were stabbing just out of reach. Opening her eyes again to the dark room she found it lit, like a dimly lit bulb had turned on exposing most of the vacant basement. Edges of the chair flickered in gray light as did the ashen floor beneath them. Her eyes surveyed her surroundings as silvery shadows pulsated within the dark. What had been dark. All was eerily lighted in a way that was now so unnatural. She rolled on her side off the chair and then stood to face her mother.

Helen drew in a nearly breathless gasp and dropped the phone to the cold floor launching the battery and back casing to scatter.

Complete darkness.

Ashley stepped back hearing her mother's breaths beat heavily. She wasn't quite sure what had caused her mother's reaction but she guessed it had all to do with her. She brushed her fingers over her eyes again, more diligent this time making them water heavily. In confusion Ashley called out to her. "Ah, mom."

"Ashley," came the submissive whisper. Ashley immediately didn't like the tone her mother was using. Too much fear was heard in her name. She curled her injured arm inward and took another step back, blinking her eyelids closed then opening them once more and squinted slightly.

Helen had already slumped down from the chair to take hold of her daughter's forearm. Was it a defensive measure to have the upper hand if Ashley went Cabal on her? Ashley tried to pull away slowly but fingers slid down around her small wrist. Ashley locked eyes with her mother finding them as wide as she'd ever seen them. Something wasn't quite right.

"Do you know who I am," asked Helen in the most fragile of voices. Quietly. In the barely spoken voice.

What a weird question. Why on earth was she asking her this. The thought started to make her even more uneasy. Seeing the sense of distant sorrow in her mother's face she let her arm fall to her side slowly. Helen kept hold to her and she wasn't about to let go. Ashley didn't move, she only wanted to assure her that she was no threat for whatever reason her mother believed.

"Um, why are you asking me that? You're scaring me."

Helen was motionless as a statue afraid of releasing her hold on her daughter. Could this be another potential adverse effect of teleporting or something else. Carefully she asked again. Guarded in her words. "Please just answer the question..."

Ashley didn't hesitate and exhausted her reply rather loudly to make it very clear she was still in control. Helen heard the aching desperation to prove herself the moment she spoke her first words. "You are my mother! Born in England. You time traveled to the past and created a kickass invention and saved me. And we are currently residing in the biggest dump in history! Not to mention I really wish I had a pair of ruby red slippers so I can tap our way back home!"

Helen only kept still in lingering silence watching Ashley give her a slow nod ending her words. Helen tried to speak but words failed.

"Mom!" Ashley yelled in a forceful plea breaking her from her apparent shock. "What's going on?"

Fragile seconds felt like minutes and Helen found herself feeling trapped in a moment that held her greatest fear from over three years ago. But this time Ashley was completely lucid and expressing her usual cognitive nature. That very thought kept Helen's heart from sinking deeper. Helen forced a small smile to line her lips hoping that whatever was keeping Ashley in the here and now would not cause her to slip away. They both had come so far.

Searing amber retracted very slowly and pulsed randomly, circling the miniscule edges of Ashley's blackened pupil. A moment later the color encompassed fully around her iris, flickering like a soft flame. "Mom?"

"Your eyes are yellow," came the unsteady whisper and Ashley could feel her mother's hand shaking nervously around her wrist.

"Whaa," came Ashley's shock. Her face became neutral as the words floated in her head. Did she hear the words right? She forced a breath, grappling with a hopeful explaination. She raised her eyes. "Okay, calm down , I'm fine. This just explains why I can see everything."

Suddenly Helen saw her daughter's furious eyes shift her sightline to survey the spaces behind her. Ashley pulled her mother towards her so she could guard her to whatever she was sensing. "What was that," Ashley spatted offensively. Like a vigilante hunter she was ready to pounce. Helen tried to step in front to protect her but Ashley pushed her back. Both of them paused and listened to the dead silence of the facility's underground. Blue and amber eyes peered through the thick expansive blackness. Helen held her breaths, listening to the dripping pipe and its soft echo resonate in the distance. The sound carried but that was all she could make out.

Ashley's eyes seemed to pierce the darkness with its fiery glow. Like a small little light her iris' fickered in the dark. The unnatural glow exposing almost an infantile light source allowing Helen to see the miniscule spaces of her surroundings. Blinking quickly she thought her eyes located multiple shifting shadows near the water tank. It was so hard to make out anything and Helen had to look away from stationary objects just for her peripheral vision to catch all outlining shadows. Especially the ones she believed were standing near the tall testing tank. For a brief moment she felt she was reliving her encounter with the violent palefaces.

Shadows moving. Were they shadows? Or just her eyes playing tricks against the dark?

Helen leveled in a slow breath continuing her blinding glare over towards the water tank. Her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness and she could barely make out pipes lining the walls and the metal grated shapes around the water tank; odd foundations filling the surface of concrete that could misrepresent objects in the darkness. But Helen's awareness was sharp and she continued to scan the large open room in search for any threat.

"I thought, I heard a voice," whispered Ashley as she felt the rhythm of her heartbeats pound hard in her chest.

Warm air hissed into Ashley's ear as Helen whispered low. "Do you feel that.."

"Shhh," Ashley cut her off, hushing her to silence.

Helen froze keeping a firm grip to her daughter's arm. She listened and she too stared out into the hollow darkness. There was a subtle and very faint hum of air encompassing around them. Ashley noticed it too and for a second she thought it was traveling around them. Ashley didn't like that. It was different, unwelcomed and uninvited. It gave her goosebumps.

Goosebumps. At least that part felt familiar. It wasn't the first time she felt the similarities. But with this there was another odd feeling pushing the boundaries into her senses.

"Show yourself," Ashley threatened raising her good arm to a guarded form as she made a tight fist. "I'm so not in the mood for drama today!"

Still no voice answered back in the cold, damp heavy air.

The soft hum of flowing air continued to linger its false melody and Ashley listened closer to the hidden noise. She desperately tried to focus her eyesight on any shifting or contorting bend of light. Chameleons have been known to camouflage their scales to manipulate surrounding environments. This she knew too well. Sewers and creatures. Creatures in sewers. She had walked down this road before—a solo mission she ventured on after their trip into the protected crypts of Scotland.

Soft small thuds, echoed in the obtuse distances of the black room - continued lively drips from an open pipe. Falling drops of water splashed onto the floor but failed to yield anything else of equal recognition. Ashley intently listened for a few more seconds, holding her breath as the repetitive rhythm of the leaky pipe sounded; her pulsing heartbeats so loud now she could feel them ringing in her ears.

Drip thud, beat. Drip thud, beat.

Slowly she tilted her head back closer to her mother's face. She spoke her words slow and calm as she could make them. Helen followed her lead and lowered her head to listen.

"I swear, I heard a woman's voice," Ashley softly whispered.

Helen gripped her fingers tighter around Ashley's wrist in acknowledgement. What the hell could be living down here. The only thing Helen believed it to be was some bastardized remnant of a Cabal experiment gone wrong. Something that has been living down here since the last day John made his presence here.

"There it is again," blurted Ashley in a deep growl of frustration.

Helen felt Ashley shift closer into her, eyes flaming yellow as she pinned her sightline ahead of them. God Helen wished she had a loaded weapon. Better yet, she wished John was here.

Teeth grounded onto her jawline as Ashley felt the surge of a voice speak again; a distant whisper gaining decibals inside her mind.

"_Thank you Ashley. Welcome to your rebirth—"_

And there it was. She almost could feel the cooling breeze on her face as it tossed her hair wildly under the moonlit night on Easter Island.

"Trust me," Ashley quickly shouted in a promise. But she didn't have time to explain. Ashley stepped back into her mother, turning around to close the smallest of distances between them. Closing her eyes to the impending moment now reassured with a safe arm slung around her mother's shoulders, the last proof of habitation in this place was a brilliant swirl of demateralizing matter. Phasing its delicate gift into a blur of rippling scarlet.

Ashley's only lingering thought as they disappeared from the darkness was, _There's no place like home_.


	36. Chapter 36

Author's note: We still have a little ways to go yet until the end. Will let you all know when we reach the home stretch. :)

As always I hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 36<p>

Nikola swallowed a gulp of sweet red wine in a tilt of his wine glass after toasting good fortunes to the sleeping furballs behind a wall of glass. It wasn't that often that he made rounds around the Sanctuary Abnormal habitats. In fact he really never did. It was only when his brain was needed that he would be called in. Or, when he needed rescuing. Helen and Nikola were like a pair of cards in a deck, playing war with each other everytime they shuffled through life's disasters that were, at times, most brilliant.

"You know they're sleeping," Henry called out as he ambled in behind him. In a pair of white slippers and hands nestled in the pockets of his white scrub pants he made his way over.

Nikola turned his head slightly to the sound of Henry's voice while keeping his curious eyes fixated on the tiny creatures huddled under a foggy chill. "They're always sleeping," he smirked.

"Well, actually they are in hibernation of sorts."

"I know how it works Tiny Tim. Remember, I have worked with the little demons," he replied grinning widely. How he loved to play at Henry's appreciation for all creatures great and puny.

"Right. And they are not demons. Just misunderstood. Sweet little buggers, sort of like house cats. But round."

"Yes, well," he swirled his beveled wine glass and watched the red liquid coast along its sides in a whirling spin. "That is why I am a scientist and not a veterinarian."

Henry walked past Nikola and tapped a finger to the clear glass, stirring one of the sleeping Nubbins to open its tiny sleepy eyes. "Yeah, but didn't you like help bag and tag Abnormals in your old days with the Five?"

"Hmm," he smirked through a inquisitive hum. "I was more or less the, secretary of the information that was gathered there after."

Henry had guessed as much. "Oh how shocking."

"So I do not like getting my hands dirty. I was never the working man. Just the man working on genuis."

"I could only imagine."

Blue eyes fell to the vintage Comic Con sweatshirt swallowing Henry's form. Filled with welding stains, and small shrivelled rips around his collar, he'd wondered if the thing was as old as he was. "Why are you still wearing that? It's hideous."

"Hey, it has sentimental value. And Ashley has one just like it. I thought it would make her feel more comfortable when she saw me. You know. Maybe bring back memories of the good times would help her adjust."

Nikola nodded realizing Henry had placed a lot of thought in choosing his garment to wear. As he does. He let the simple conversation end there.

Henry grinned wide as the little Nubbin blinked curiously in recognition at him behind the glass. "Hey Cujo."

Nikola sipped the sweet wine from his glass and licked the red contents from his wet lips. "You named the little dust bunny?"

The Nubbin opened his tiny beady eyes wider and slowly rolled forward on the granite rock surface then sprung into an array of small pounces. Strategically making his way in search of a clear path around his fellow family members he zoned in on an open patch of room near the glass. Bouncing closer to the tall glass it finally rested, raising his little eyes up to look at Henry. "Yes. And do you see that one, over there," he pointed out proudly, "smushed between the two big ones? He's dark gray with a bit of white. The one with the mohawk hairdo?"

Nikola eyed the sleeping nest of browns, soot greys, and cream colored furballs. He wasn't hard to find. "How could I not. I have been staring at that little beast since I got here. He looks like he stepped on a live electric wire. Wait. I take that back. They don't have legs."

Henry shook his head humorously. "Cow lick. One big honking cow lick. He's been like that since he was born. But it makes for a great name." Henry turned his head to eye Nikola, mischeviously.

Nikola watched Henry give him a tight lipped grin, waiting for him to respond. "Okay, wolf man. What did you name the runt?" Nikola was pretending like he didn't care. But he did. Henry's imagination was fascinating and impressive at times.

Henry beamed all teeth as he smiled. "I'd thought you'd never ask." He turned back around to face the habitat, staring at the smallest of creatures. "Little Tesla."

Snorted giggles released from Henry. God he so loved annoying Nikola. In any way possible.

"That was the best you could come up with?"

"No. I was thinking of naming him Edison."

"Blasphemy my dear chap. The man was nothing more than a cheat."

"Yes, you tell me that everytime you visit us. Edison, Edison, the man who stole your work. Dude it's been like, a hundred years? Just let it go."

"I'll never let it go. Damn," an immediate thought graced his intellectual brain as he snapped his fingers, "I should have told Magnus to send me a message in the past. So I could know about Edison's escapades in stealing some of my ideas." It was more or less a comical beat he was playing with Henry. But he did like the idea of it. He was a man proud of his works. Works of an aristocratic genuis.

Suddenly a beeping sound erupted and Henry quickly reached into his pants pocket.

"What is it?" Nikola asked taking a step closer to Henry.

"Proximity alert is going off. The Sanctuary has motion sensors everywhere. I have it programmed to go off if any new biological life signs are found. Other than ours." Henry tapped the screen of his small handheld device, thumbing across its surface to find out the cause.

"Holy buckets!" His blue eyes shot up to Nikola. "It's Helen and Ashley. They're in the sublevel foyer."

"Dear Lord," Nikola voiced loudly. Without hesitation he quickly swallowed the last of his red wine, refusing to waste the precious and very expensive liquid. Placing the wine glass on the sill of the Nubbin's enclosure he turned to follow Henry as he raced down the long stone hallway leading to the open foyer.

Ashley felt the change in temperature instantly as the flash of red flare dissolved its soft light around their bodies. Bright sunshine so inviting and serene beamed down from above. It lit the center of the subterranean level in an expansive ray of extended light spreading outward giving light to the spaces around.

With a small akward stumble sideways both mother and daughter fought for a single moment to catch their footing. Both of them searched the large room. Tinted enclosures stood tall and the stone floor was free of what was left of Sally's glass frame wall. Helen suspected the boys had their hands full cleaning up the mess left by the Magoi.

"Were home," Helen said softly as she was absorbed by the tangible sight before her; the inner warmth of the sunlight, the familair smells of the underground, the faint high pitched chirping and howling noises from the Abnormals in their habitats; there really was no place like home.

Ashley slowly stepped back and looked upwards. The bright glow from above was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever witnessed. Reflecting through the glass dome the sun poured down all around them. "You can say that again." Ashley felt a rush of relief flood over her. She did it. She thought of a place and made it there. And she so hoped it wasn't just a random occurence. Ashley was as amazed as her mother was. She could have teleported anywhere. And before she did she actually thought they were headed for Easter Island. But she remembered what Gregory had told her not long after he found her on the street in Hollow Earth; the destination may well be a simple thought process of where you want to be. So she pictured home. The subterreaned level. It was wide open and void of obstacles. She didn't want to teleport and rematerialized in someone elses body. Or even a stone wall. But it wasn't the first time she adverted that one. The stone wall was where she left the last remaining Cabal threat just before her EM signature was stored and saved. Only to find life again as an electromagnetic blip being piggy backed on a radio signal cascading through the EM bubble to Hollow Earth. A bubble that defied quantum physics as everyone knew it. Being trapped in Carentan was the best thing that had ever happened to Helen. Who knew her knowledge gained there would set in motion Ashley's hope to live again. Not to mention programming the EM Shield to act as a time dilation rift to the future. But the calculations for that one was Nikola's doing. And Helen would never let the man forget it.

Helen's eyes landed back to her daughter and took careful noticec that the yellow pigment in her eyes had receeded. Exposing only the brightest of blue eyes that were inherant. Ashley looked up to her as hands gently rested on her shoulders. "You still with me?"

Ashley rubbed at her eyes, "Yeah. All good mom. Had another flashback. I'm just so glad we made it home..." Mother and daughter paused in the moment exchanging smiles of astonishment.

"It's good to be home," Helen said to her through the warmest of smiles.

Echoing footsteps slapping across old stone came out of the shaded hallway past Sally's empty enclosure. Voices ringing their names, echoing off hundred year old walls had never been so lovely to hear.

"Helen... Ash! Holy crap are you guys okay?"

"Henry! Nikola!" Helen returned with as much enthusiasm bursting from her voice as she turned to face the two bodies appearing from the hazy corridor.

A blur of yellow swallowed them whole as Henry came in plowing into them as arms wrapped firmly around their waists. All of his anxieties and fears faded away when as their warm bodies pressed against his. Henry's head smushed into the side of Ashley's face with a grin so wide it hurt his cheeks. "We were so worried. What the hell happened? Where have you guys been?"

Ashley felt his strong body embracing tightly around her. Nearly cutting off the flow of air from her chest. She manuvered her arm being smushed to her side to offer a soft pat to his mid back. "Hey," she eased out in a huff, "I'm glad to see you too." Then her voice strained into a joking sigh. "But you're killing me with the manwich hug."

With his scruffy face still pressing against hers, he turned slightly and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Ashley felt the small bristles of facial hair brush along her skin as he faced to kiss her. It tickled. She laughed out loud in a small giggle then locked eyes with him. A soft smile brimming the bruised face of Ashley made Henry still feel like he was looking at a ghost. Or a dream. But this was real.

Ashley acknowledged Henry again as they took a moment to stare at each other. Still so shocked at the moment. "My Henry!" Ashley leaned forward taking Henry closer in an one arm embrace. Henry reached with his other arm that had been around Helen's waist and embraced her with both. Gently lifting her off her feet he didn't care if the sutures stitched across his shoulders would tear. That was insignificant. With Ashley's head resting soflty on his shoulder he spun her around and didn't care how corny it may have looked. "God Ashley I've missed you so much," voiced her lichen brother. And that was an understatement. He hadn't really had the time to talk with her. Only stolen moments since she had returned.

"My god," Nikola chimed in standing in front of Helen. With hands on his hips, fisted along the waist band of his dark gray dress pants his eyes searched the white scrub outfits they were wearing. Leave it to him to break the moment with a play of humor. "Dear God. Who invited the hot nurses?"

Warm tears surfaced in Helen's eyes. She couldn't hold them back letting the wall of emotion pool the rims of her blue eyes. Nikola was the reason why Ashley was here.

"Nikola." His named floated quietly off her lips. It was merely a whisper.

"Helen." He smiled, teeth exposed as he grinned from ear to ear. He looked so proper as always Helen thought. His light blue oxford shirt buttoned to the collar. Dark colored dress pants. Black dress shoes polished and shining in the light from the above dome. She caught him wink at her only to open his arms, welcoming a hug knowing all too well it was not something he did everyday. Helen stepped forward slowly, raising the back of her hand to gently cradle her quivering chin. And she hugged him as escaping tears fell slowly down her flushed cheeks.

With her chin pressing soflty onto Nikola's shoulder Helen spoke her words being muffled by its cotton fabric. "Thank you," came the fragile words.

Memories came flooding into Helen's thoughts. The very rememberance when she was walking away from Nikola that end of night. She had just told him what she needed him to do. But the weight of its uncertainy and chance of her plan not succeeding nearly broke her. As she walked away she heard Nikola part his way too. His footsteps lingered in small scuffing sounds on stone only to disappear as the old heavy door shut behind him. She was alone now walking through the long stone bricked corridor by herself. Scuba gear in hand. She had done what she could. Her hands were now empty to the hundred year old plan.

Walking further down into the eerily quiet stone corridor she found herself wanting to stay. She was so close. So close to seeing Ashley once more. But what could she do if she saw her again? Nothing at all. Her body literally trembled as the sureal moment of finally coming full circle hit her. What if Nikola could not find a way to upload and calculate the needed program's data? What if the Caranten device is destroyed by the coincidence of events altered? What if by her being here nothing will change because she interfered?

Turning the corner out of the bricked tunnel-like corridor she saw the secret water entrance leading out to Old River and into the basement of her Sanctuary. She couldn't help it, so she started to cry as she neared the access pool. She quietly slipped her tank vest back on and buckled the straps. This was it. The ending to her plan. There was no more she could do. So she took one last look around gripping tight to her black belted waist band. Above her, her family was scrambling their defenses. And somewhere her past self was losing hope to the inevitable. This day seemed so long ago now. But still as clear as day in her heart.

Blue eyes stared back at the archway hang of the corridor and she thought back to the many times her and Ashley had come down here. Whether to store supplies and look for Abnormals that escaped their little confines. She could recall the day when the foundation was being layed, each and every large stone brick that rested beneath her feet. How incredible it did look at the time even without the fortified walls standing around it.

She had no choice now. It was time. And she turned back to face the truth that it was time to leave. A pull of her neck line brought the small wet suit hood to cover her head. Goggles then were strapped to her forehead and she stepped to the edge carefully balancing against the weight of the heavy sliver oxygen tank. Looking down she took a moment to watch the infinite waves of currents ripple the stone rim of the circled base. It was the most genuis piece of architecture that had been planned for her Old City Sanctuary. Without it she believed she could have never been able to pull off her plan unnoticed. And oddly enough it wasn't blueprinted by her.

Years ago, so many that had become engrained into her immortal heart, she was told something odd. Strange even.

Life began its secrets, just one of many at the Old London Sanctuary during a time Helen offered Sanctuary to their first Abnormal resident. Spring Heeled Jack. A creature so ancient looking one would think its purpose was only of instinct and violent tendacies. Who knew trust and a caring nature could teach a beast? They had treated the Abnormal just like they treated everyone around them. With respect. With honest kindness. But now looking back she understood the reason for his sacred message to her - as confusing as it was to hear all those years ago.

One night she was bringing him a fresh kill of deer meat when she saw him sitting quietly, resting between a curved branch of a tall tree that was housed in a large grassy habitat in the sublevel. But it wasn't a place he was confined and imprisoned in. He had access to the outside world and the choice to live far away in an environment that would be better suited for his wild nature. But the London Sanctuary was where he stayed until he finally expressed his want for the open space of a forest. A request that was gladly granted many years later.

He had sprung down from the thick barked branch taking his large lengthy strides towards Helen. She saw his expression more somber than usual. His large dark cratered eyes seemed softer. His lips relaxed, almost revealing a smile though his facial muscles did not allow for it.

She brushed her light blue hood back from her head, and placed the large slab of meat nealty put in a wooden crate on the ground. He eyed her patiently and bent down in a predatory kneel laying a hand on the piece of large meat. Then he raised his sunken eyes to her. "I must tell you what I see."

Helen had frowned. She did not understand.

"What do you see," she asked confused taking a quick look around the large grassy habitat. A large tree, one that was Abnormal itself that sprouts and grows nearly a hundred times faster than an oak sat idle in the center. Green soft bladed grass, tall and thin rose two feet up and surrounded them and every inch of the enclosure's surface. A small fresh water outlet, much like a small lake wound its way around the tree from its path from the right side of the back spaces. A row of electric lights hung like white Christmas lights along each of the four walls. Sending a soft white glow of light to illuminate the wonders that were safely protected in this room. It was a beautiful haven Jack had told her. And the large gray creature thanked her everyday that he had lived there.

Glossy black eyes only blinked back.

"What do you see my friend," she asked again. A bit more nervously with hesitation. His normal prowling stance over his food was quiet unsettling at times. For he was a large, predatory looking creature. The sight would unnerve anyone. And even though he had shown nothing but a docile nature to her, she kept cautious on the forefront when near the beast.

Jack looked away from her to glance downward stretching his large white fingers to pierce the red meat using his long sharp talons. Delicately he watched the fresh meat split and open. Keeping his focus down he continued speaking. "I see that the ending of nights will only be the beginning," he rasped deeply. Inhuman like. His words came without threat, almost graceful as if he was reading each from a poem book.

After he spoke the last word he raised his large head. Thin pale and deeply wrinkled eyelids blinking over lively opague eyes revealed the sentient lifeform that he was. Lamps on the hanging black electric rope just behind Helen reflected like tiny white diamonds across his shiny eyes. Like reflecting light on water.

She carefully kneeled down into the tall soft veil of grass intrigued and curious about his words. "What does this mean?"

Helen watched his thick grey lips twinge and curl as his thoughts came to him. He whsipered as if the words were being given to him. In a soft wave each single word was spoken with great meaning. "You will build again. A place like this. But it must not be built as this one."

Blue eyes widened in the soft white glow of the room. And she only nodded in acknowledgement as her fingers bent a crop of tall green blades within her hands.

Jack then raised his large amphibian skinned arm to point at the concrete ceiling. "I see what the world has planned in days to come. Big plans. Your plans."

A sigh lingered around them as Helen lost her breath in awe. He was trying to tell her of his gift. And there was something in his voice that was taking away any doubt that was stirring in Helen's heart. His arm lowered resting mid air to point at her, his long fingers almost touching her heart. "The life you give will be the life you save. Only you must build a means of a path of water below. A river tunnel like the one you have made for me here."

Her eyes peered behind him and she stared over to the pond of fresh water. It was a simple design of adaptation connected to the water pipes through the London Sanctuary. An underground facet that was pressurized for a larger volume of water. A design created by James and cleverly linked to the pipes accepting water from The Thames river.

"You want me to build an access water pond in the basement of a place I will build in the future?" _Dear God what on Earth is he trying to get me to do _she asked herself.

"Yes," he rasped in a deep voice that echoed. "You must. You will ink and quill the last Act of your play and write the end. If no tunnel is made then the days to come will not change. And the life so precious will be lost for all days."

Her heart was beating so wildly with such question she believed it would fly out from her very being. "Who will I save," she pleaded in a small voice.

Spring Heeled Jack then reached further down into the wooden crate and lifted the slab of meat close to his chest. Helen watched as it bloodied his ashen colored cloak. Lastly the creature rose to his feet and grunted loudly, blinking his large black eyes against the dim light. "What Jack sees has left me. I know no more." His deep raspy words spoken repeated in her mind. Over and over. _What did he see?_

With that the large Abnromal sprung backwards, sending a small rush of air to brush against Helen's face. She watched the beautiful creature return to his place of rest. In high jumps he reached the distances underneath the densely colored tree of green veiny leaves hanging like a weeping willow tree. A last spring up the curved dark branch nestled his large form between thick twisting branches. And he was silent. Helen was left with a puzzle that spanned decades. But she built the secret river entrance into the basement of her Old City Sanctuary. And it changed her life for all days.

Nikola's voice pulled her from the past and she reveled once again as she clung to him. The other that had made her plan come full circle. "Words are not needed Helen," he whispered back in a voice so soft and sincere her heart fluttered.

"You are wrong," she protested. "I spent over one hundred years trying to figure out how to ask for your help. And when the moment finally came you didn't even question it."

A warm flush of air kissed her ear. "How could I. You needed my help."

Fingers fiddled with the back collar of Nikola's blue tinted dress shirt. Helen closed her eyes and listened to the innocent sounds of Ashley and Henry giggling in hysterics beside them. "Thank you for saving my daughter."

"You are welcome," he whispered lovingly to her. And with that Nikola pressed closer to her kissing the soft skin of her cheek. The Vampire couldn't help but smile as immortal tears fled from his own blue eyes.

For endless moments it seemed Ashley found herself twirling around in Henry's strong embrace while Helen and Nikola stood still to the miracle playing out before them. How long Helen had wanted this to be the ending to her story. Like from a Shakespearean play; the last page of the Act so well received the afterglow from the audience was an unending clap of delight.

It was an Act that not even Shakespeare himself could script as perfect as she.


	37. Chapter 37

Author's note: Sorry for the long delay! Seems like the chapters are becoming a turtle crawl to put together. I hope to have my story finished by Christmas.

As always, I hope you enjoy! :)

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><p>Chapter 37<p>

Thick blinding layers, a pearly spectrum of soft powdery snow swept across the foundations in Old City. Its frozen world bathed every rooftop building and fortress-like balcony of the Sanctuary under the evening's waning sun. The brightest of blues captured the city's sky exposing a horizon that seemed to promise its reach on forever. Old River crawled along slowly against the melting and refreezing of its top layer below the season's frigid air. Dead Bridge stood like a quiet statue, broken and gravely rusted and unmoving in the wintry winds of early December. Seasons came and went. Years had come and gone.

And time itself had marched on. But not for the hearts inside the Sanctuary. For their hearts didn't know how to follow.

It is said that change is the only constant. And in many ways that is true. All life continues to unfold. Whether by decisions one makes on their own or by being forced to adapt to changes around them. _Change is the only constant_. Helen smiled inwardly to those very words. It was her love for her daughter that was her constant.

And constant, had also been her belief in change. The ultimate change. To undo what was unfair and wrong. To manipulate the fabric of everything she ever knew. And she made sure she had all the bloody resources to make that happen.

The warmth from the invading sunlight continued to glimmer down through the glass dome above the subterranean level. A thin layer of clear ice clung against the dome's circled face but it only refracted the light brighter to a shimmering white blur. A rush of curiosity and that of worry had descended on Sally just moments ago and she swam over to her large glass enclosure window to see what she was feeling. With her thickly skinned blue palm pressed against the glass surface she stared down to the commotion below. Peering her eyes downward as best she could from having to overlook the small iron railing she scouted the large concrete foyer to see two bodies standing below her. It was Henry and Nikola. But there were two more.

_Helen._

_Ashley._

Her human-like eyes peered through the rippling water. Then the blue creature smiled inside her liquid haven.

A single tear spilled from her eye; its salty substance blending into the water that was encompassing her. Concern and relief came flooding in as mother and daughter's inner emotions filled her mind. Family. Its overwhelming presence had pulled her like a string to the forefront of her temporary second level enclosure. A cold hand pressed firmly to the clear wall expressed her want to bring all below closer to her. Only if she had legs she mused. And a gift of breathing air. She had always wanted to know what that felt like.

All Ashley could see was a tuff of yellow sweatshirt as her chin sunk into its old worn cotton. With each careful spin around in Henry's arms she would glimpse Helen and Nikola holding each other then again a quick blur of the open foyer's familiarities of home. She couldn't remember much of Nikola. It was only a brief moment in which they'd met. An unpleasant one that ended as John teleported her and Helen out from the ancient dusty catacombs under the city streets of Rome.

In the small moments passing by in his gentle embrace, she felt needed. Wanted. Like nothing could break through and poke a hole in a dream that still felt too real to believe. Too real for actual words. Helen was thinking just the same. With a head resting on Nikola's shoulder she watched Henry swing Ashley round and round. She had never seen his smile so bright. Perhaps only when he was with Erika.

Bare feet skimmed along the cool surface atop subterranean stone, and then clipped against the change to brush along the foundation of rich hard wood. Blinking through a flicker of crimson light Henry found himself spinning to a stop in the open spaces of Ashley's attic room. A nanosecond later his senses caught the feel of heavy cold air swirl around him, pushing his eyelids to close again. Within this instant, as soon as he consciousness became aware the sensation it subsided as the remnants of the teleport dissolved away. Both of their bodies came slowing to a halt and they only shuffled slightly against one another at first observation they had been teleported upstairs.

"Oh god..." cringed Ashley while shutting her blue eyes to the flush of goose bumps igniting the skin on her body.

"Whoa," came the surprised reply. Henry's eyes widened to the instantaneous whirlwind that brought them here.

The room was wrapped within a warm glow of encroaching sunshine. And it looked the same as Ashley had remembered. Which to her wasn't that long ago.

If she took one small step to her left she would bump into her punching bag stand. She noticed that almost immediately. Henry's right shoulder had pressed into the large hanging black bag and it swayed into life when the heavy chains clanked and squeaked as it swung quietly. Ashley turned her head slightly and saw her reading chair behind her, her lamp and poetry books resting on her small end tables. Behind Henry was her exercise machine, desk and chair. It was nice. Helen had told her they had kept her things in storage. And it made her wonder what had become of her room after she had left them.

Sunlight trickled in from the large glass wall, shifting between the thin dark wooden bamboo shades hanging halfway down over the large glass. Something new Ashley recognized and she fell in love with the new addition to her room. Why hadn't she thought of that before? It wasn't like Henry's talents were primarily weaponry. He was a carpenter too. And unknowingly to her, it was he who had crafted the wooden bamboo insets from his stock pile of left overs from what was needed to repair and maintenance the vitals of the Sanctuary's upkeep.

Familiar smells of thick maple wood filled Ashley's senses as did the flora of vases scattered along her desk. Each holding large pink floppy eared flowers. Those were the very ones she'd pick for her mother on her birthdays as a little girl. And she had been right. They did look like pink panther ears. For that was what she had called them when Helen first brought them to her; sweet memories never forgotten.

Every season, whether spring or fall they delicately had planted each big seed. Big seeds that needed to be carried by both of her small cupped hands. And they would wait patiently during their short lived germination for the pink veiny stems to sprout above the black soil then bloom. The greenhouse was a menagerie of vastly bright colors and filled with so much wonder from infinite tall growths to miniature blooms that almost needed a magnifier to see. This rainbow of spectrums was a child's dreamland of tangible pastels one could walk through. It was a fairytale land blanketed in hues only found in the Abnormal botanical world, and Ashley would spend hours carefully planting, trimming, and watering the little lovelies as she would call them when she was young.

White marble vases, tall and thin adorned her desk standing against the side wall behind them. Two sat on the table top and both the floppy un-bloomed buds and large oversized petals of the ones already bloomed hung low over the marbled rim. Each nearly touching the wooden desktop itself. They were giants to the Abnormal flora that flourished in the glass dome greenhouse inside the South Tower of the Sanctuary. And to know that this sentimental gesture of her homecoming had made its way up here to her room; promised a stir of emotion to settle along the rims of her eyes.

Henry still clung close to her. His palms softly holding her by the sides of her waist. His light breathing brought her out of her small memories of being young and she found him staring at her. Blue eyes lightened by the peeking sunlight revealed once more his emotion buried in his tired eyes. For a moment she watched him silently. His thin lips slowly parted as if to say something, but he at last gave in with a grind of his jaw revealing he couldn't find the words. Only a reveal of an undercurrent of feelings surfacing in his solemn expression. So Ashley reassured his heart with a wide smile and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm home Gumby. It's okay now." Her smile didn't leave her face and her comforting voice made his heart flutter at the century year old plan created by her mother. It still felt so strange to hear her voice linger around them. He folded his arms around her lower back and closed his eyes bringing her to his chest.

"God Ash," he rasped in a low voice and he fought to find the remaining sentiment. "I...," he closed his blue eyes, "I thought I was losing you all over again."

The words pricked her heart as thick bristles of facial hair tickled Ashley's neck. Henry leaned his face nearer into her shoulder. Softening her tone to ease his worries she spoke back to him. "Nonsense. Just got a fast car that I can't steer, " she said with her voice cracking from exhaustion. She tried to sound upbeat and optimistic for him. Even though the thought of teleporting and immortality was still weighing heavily on her mind. She was trying not to let on how much these new found abilities were scaring her. God how would she adapt to all of this? Her mother had. Her father had. Or maybe she was thinking too hard? _Maybe if I look at it as a blessing? _Helen had always told her to be strong and approach each situation in life with depth perception and an objective view. _Kinda hard when the world has changed you against your will?_

Henry inhaled a heavy breath before speaking and Ashley felt his chest contract in his tight embrace. "Where the hell have you guys been? We've been looking for like, hours."

Well for Henry it was almost four years he admitted consciously. He had never given up faith and within that time he had kept his own search, however unrealistic it may have felt, alive. He had programmed viruses to route through communication feeds all over the world to look for any trace of Ashley Magnus. Delicate hours on his own time and even not he engaged his techno mind to try and piece a puzzle together of his own to where Ashley may have teleported to that dark end of night. Another city? Another continent? Every night after he racked his brain, 'had she made it through the EM Shield'? But no trace was ever decrypted. No link of name of Cabal identity past or present acknowledged any remote connection. But he had never stopped hoping one day he would find her. Somewhere. Lost and alone just waiting on them to never give up hope and discover where she was.

Warm tears continued to edge Henry's pale blue eyes. Ashley slowly pulled back to face him. He was a mess with wounds blanketing so much of his face. He blinked and one tear broke against the small wall of water and caught the glare of the peeking sunshine. Ashley watched as it streamed downward glistening as it crawled over red and purple bruising and lastly as it collected onto a black stitched suture under his eye. Henry was obviously trying his best to fight the moment. Now everything was starting to sink in. The shock was still overwhelming but the numbness that had engulfed his heart when he first saw her sleeping in the infirmary; that was being replaced with the deepest of empathy. He wanted now, more than ever, to just take care of his best friend.

He never liked crying in front of her. But growing up in a house full of furry creatures that lived short lives, both Abnormal and not, they had seen each other cry many times when their favorite pets had passed away inside their world. That was always hard. This was hard.

"Where'd you go," he slowly whispered again.

Ashley gnawed at the edge of her bottom lip. "I jumped back to that Cabal facility. Smashed into a chair and took one to the chest on the way down from an airborne teleport. Oh and my eyes glowed yellow. It was peachy." And she hissed internally to the pain throbbing still in her side as she finished her words.

A sinking feeling tore at Henry's stomach. That was the last thing he expected to hear. "Damn," he spit in disgust.

"Double damn," Ashley grumbled against a wince as she turned slightly away from him. She tried to hide the pain still stinging in her side.

"Hey," he started gently. "Tesla has been pining away looking over your blood tests that Gregory downloaded onto that tablet. He found out how the Cabal did that. He wants to talk to you and Magnus when you guys are up to it."

Ashley didn't look back to acknowledge his comments and started to awkwardly lean away from his hold. Henry slid his arms under her shoulders when she gradually continued to slink down. He shifted a step towards her and lifted her carefully back up. "What's the matter," he said quickly in obvious concern.

Gritting her teeth Ashley leaned into him, letting her bruising forehead sink and rest into his chest. She was silent for a moment then he heard a muffled "Crap," expel in a fading rasp. Folding his arms more securely around her he forced her to stand up straighter. "Ash..." he raised his voice louder.

"Just, tired," came her reply of throaty words.

Henry could feel Ashley slide down further against his hold so he leaned down to pick her up and cradle her. "Okay let's get you on your bed so you can rest for bit. Okay?" He side stepped and slid his arms under her knees and pulled her up gently as to not disturb any lingering injuries from her gunshot wound and the Cabal inspired teleport. And he griped at his chest and shoulders in protest to the wounds inflicted by the Magoi against his body.

"I need a shower," Ashley whined low. Even now she felt of dirt and grime from that basement hell and just wanted the sanctuary of a hot steaming shower.

Henry let out a breath. "Yeah, me too. I can smell myself."

Ashley couldn't help hide the weak smile painting her face.

"So, tired," she muttered low burying her face into the yellow fabric of his sweatshirt.

He pressed his chin softly to her head as he spoke to her. "Try and stay awake for me," he told her in a soft whisper.

"Feeling, kinda woozy," she groaned back.

"Probably the teleporting. Magnus did say that might happen. But I've got ya," he assured her.

Her only coherent reply was a fading grunt.

She closed her eyes and took comfort being held in his arms. His hold was firm and he held her so close her feet barely dangled free under his forearms. He carefully walked step by easy step and she calmly listened to the sliding of Henry's feet shuffling against the wood floor. As they neared the foot of her bed she slanted her blue eyes open halfway knowing she couldn't shy away from the sight of her own room. The boys had been busy.

White Christmas lights hung across her artistically painted walls and bordered the large glass window pane. The bright white lights were spread over her headboard of her bed and reached the top of her nightstand. Another vase of large pink flowers sat on its top. What looked like a picture frame hanging over her nightstand was covered with what looked like a canvas cover. How odd she thought. That was never there before.

"Here you go," said Henry shifting onto the edge of her bed and sliding her gently to its center. She grunted her exhaustion as she was swallowed by a bundle of cream pillows and she took in the peaceful presence of it all and tucked herself sideways beside the plush cream feather down squares. As the pillows cradled her head she found her arms fumbling into a patch of wrapped gifts.

She eyed the colored boxes as her one good arm slunk under the pillow beneath her head. "What's all this?"

"Ah, yeah. You weren't supposed to see this."

She smiled warmly at the objects. "Christmas," she asked sheepishly.

Henry nudged closer to her, resting on his back so only the bundle of boxes separated them. He shifted his hands to rest on his stomach and stared above at the dark wood beams lining the ceiling. "Well honestly it's something we put together for you. Since... you know." That was tougher to say than he thought. And he found himself again lost in the middle of his fragile words.

"You all didn't have to do this." She lifted her head slightly to view a box shaped like a small case they used for weaponry. She reached a finger and scrunched at the gold colored bow at its corner.

"Yes we did," Henry insisted with a hint of sadness.

Blue eyes looked across the bundle of gifts to Henry and she watched him as his eyes scouted the large ceiling above them. "Which one is from you?"

He turned his head to her and tapped the gift with the golden bow she was clutching. "That one. Blood sweat and tears went into that. My best work."

The corner of her lips raised in a lazy smile with both a small dried blood streak and torn suture crinkling between her eyes. She was very curious about the gift. "So, it's not a new motorcycle?"

He shook his head at the quip. He returned a thoughtful grin of white teeth. "Nah. And we still have your bike."

"I was wondering if you kept it," she said quietly.

"That wasn't even an option. It was all I had left of you..." He caught himself once more at the words feeling again a rush of emptiness that he had felt for the last four years. It made his chest feel like it was sinking deeper into the pit within his stomach muscles.

Ashley reached over and rested her hand to his shoulder for a second then curled up into a more comfortable position. She buried half her face and chin into the cream pillow that smelled of cinnamon. That was probably from the cinnamon scented candles on her nightstand.

Henry sighed to the old feelings and kept his gaze upwards. He spoke in little breaths. "You know after you were gone, I'd drive your bike out to Dead Bridge. Get there at sundown. Stay still sunrise just thinking about my life. The life your mom gave me. And during those long nights I realized how much you meant to me. God Ash it was so hard." And then the wave of emotion hit him when tears starting slipping from his eyes. "I wasn't prepared for this. For losing you."

"No one is Henry," she soothed softly reaching for his upper arm. Her hand rubbed gently over heavy yellow cotton.

He nodded in tears. "It's never been the same since you left." His words bit at what the Cabal had done but his loving words floated around them and for a moment in the silence it seemed as if the words had slowed time in an odd sense. The aura of the room shadowed all the blackness that had seeped around them in the last four years. Within the last few days. This open lighted haven of a room only foreshadowed the peace in days to come.

Henry raised the back of his hand to wipe away the sadness drowning over his tender cheeks. "The heart of this place," he cried in a rattled breath, "what it used to be, you and your mom it just faded away and left a cold emptiness."

"I'm sorry," she answered. She wanted to say more. But didn't know what to tell him. She was never good at the empathy part of life she remembered. She had often substituted lost words for a single hug.

A hand patted her side and Henry shifted closer pushing the barrier of gifts aside with his other hand. His chest heaved a deep breath then he slid his arm from under him and used his outer sleeve to wipe away the remaining tears expelled on his cheeks.

"Oh Henry..."

Henry's face contorted as his teeth clenched and he failed to hide the sob building in his throat. He leaned the small inches closer and kissed at her forehead, "I just missed you so much."

"I know," she said in a small voice.

"This teleporting thing is just a step we'll take together," he added shifting away slightly. "Just the same with the Immortality."

Silence filled the spaces and yet they didn't move from their face to face of heartfelt pleas. A distant honk of a car blended into the moment. A long moment later it beeped a second time followed by an echo of increased speed. _Immortality. _The words saddened Ashley. This would mean she would outlive Henry. For one brought up to never hate, she was taught wrong. Ashley hated death. Hated the abruptness of it. The sickness of it. How the one's left alone suffered from it.

Henry brushed his fingers through the blonde stray bangs lining her forehead. Just as he had done when she was a child sleeping in her baby crib. "Remember what I told you?"

"Mmhuh."

Henry could tell sleep was drawing her in. And he just wanted to let her know how much he cares about her. His scruffy voice became more firm, more direct to keep her attention as she drifted along the realm of sleep. "And I will keep saying it until I drum it into your thick blonde skull," his small lips shadowed a tempting grin. "I got your babe..."he whispered only to end with a song line he was humming.

Ashley shut her eyes giggling a soft snort to herself. "Seriously, you wanna quote Cher?"

"No. Sonny Bono."

Ashley couldn't hide her grinning smile. He wrapped his hand to the one she had cradled against her side and she twiddled at the yellow broken cotton threads at his wrist. "You're wearing our old Comic Con sweatshirt."

Henry's expression softened. "You noticed?"

"Yeah, kinda hard not to. For a second when we got back I thought I was being attacked by a giant banana," she rasped.

Quiet giggles rang throughout the room.

"That's my Ash," Henry told her. His tone harbored affection of the bands of family stronger than any organization could dare to break.

Quiet silence like a silhouette shadowed with many memories dancing in time between the tall walls. And as he briefly glanced around to all that he could see from his sightline he found it so easy for the world to pour old memories around him. He loved her so dearly and just wished he could take away her deepest, darkest worries. Take them all away one by one.

"I want you to understand something," he told her returning his attention to their conversation.

"What?"

"Let us take care of you."

Ashley noticed his thin lips starting to quiver as he spoke. "You've been through so much and we know this. But we all want to help you through this."

"Thank you," she acknowledge as she yawned. Then she closed her eyes to her pillow.

"Hey if I can tame the beast within then your gifts should be a cake walk?" He was playing on the side of sibling competition. Confronting fears had always been a challenge yet beat in their eyes.

Ashley's spirit perked up to his statement. "Mom told me." He blue eyes fluttered open and she tried to focus hard against her blurred exhaustion. "I'm so, proud of you..."

"I owed that much to you."

She smiled slightly, barely holding onto the days memories. And that of the past. At least for now.

But she didn't hear him. Her mind was succumbing to the throws of sleep and her body could not remain cognitive to the day anymore. The sun had set further into the horizon and the room had dimmed to a shadowed promise of evening. The sky outside hinted a pink flush blending into a milky yellow that hovered over the snow covered season. The white Christmas lights reflected brighter sending more of an ambiance of peace into the open room.

Henry listened to Ashley's soft breaths and he continued to watch over her, making a point to run his fingers through her soft blonde hair once more. It was still so hard to understand the tangible. The feathered stands of blonde rolled on his fingers as he brushed them slowly over her sutured forehead as he stayed there without letting his hand leave her. He feared she'd might teleport again. That wouldn't be good if she did it alone he thought to himself. "Everything will be fine," he whispered low to her as she left the world of consciousness behind her. "You have nothing to be afraid of anymore."


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: HaPpy Holidays everyone! Took off the original Ch.38, was trying to add a side arc but decided against it. Might try to add it back if I can work with it? Almost finished with my story... :D Hope you enjoy as always.

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><p>Chapter 38<p>

"Sorry darling, I did not mean to wake you."

Eyes gazed up, blurry and acutely unfocused to hundreds of tiny lights bulbs glowing all around. The soft white light was brighter now in the shadowed darkness, and Ashley realized that the sun had crawled down below the horizon. Once she opened her eyelids a little more, a face came into view inches from her own and half hidden under the yellow cotton collar of a sweatshirt. It was her sleeping Henry and for a moment as she adjusted to waking she let her eyes stare over her brother friend. He was curled facing her and lying on his side. One had still clutching her shoulder that even under a newly discovered soft blanket that encompassed her, the hand still clutched protectively. A deep heavy sigh released a response to his endearing affection.

A soft rub along her back reminded her someone was sitting beside her.

"There you are," the same voice calmly chimed.

Suddenly the lichen growled quietly, pawing his wrist arching his knuckles against a paper wrapped box. A curl of his thin upper lip revealed pink gums and white teeth.

Helen glanced down seeing his involuntary twitches and reached over a few wrapped gifts to gently push fingers through his short hair. "Shhh, Ashley's not going anywhere. She's right here."

Piercing blue eyes raked up, and the sight of her mother rendered a lazy smile. "Hey."

Helen pulled back her hand when Henry exhaled a little sigh and stopped his sleep induced twitching. Ashley lifted her head from her pillow and looked around the large open room. She noticed that her reading chair had been moved alongside her bed. In it was a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Ashley let a small amusing smile grace her face. Those two items could well be pieces of jewelry worn by her mother. Often she was never without them.

She also took notice now finally facing her, that she had recently taken a shower. Her dark hair was still very much damp and she was nearly dressed in her everyday wardrobe of black slacks and black long sleeve shirt. But her eyes also noticed something encouraging from her father's doting nature that she would now receive without deflection from a caged beast. Behind Helen draped on the back of her reading chair was John's long wool coat. Perhaps he had offered to watch over her while her mother drained away every remaining grimy molecule from that Cabal dump heap.

"Just checking your tracking device I placed on your wrist. Crude I know," and she offered an embarrassed smile. Of all the techno wizardry created by the great Foss man a simple hand me down from Skippy's Sir Lanka tracking days was the culprit to GPS locate a randomly teleporting daughter. Weathered by yearly exposure to the elements the black band of thick worn leather buckled by a silver latch held Ashley's current location. It was the first tracking device within reach as Helen rummaged over mechanic tools; broken and dismantled electrical projects that were housed on Henry's very cluttered subterranean work station. Henry had called to Nikola via walkie letting them know that he and Ashley were safe and sound upstairs after Ashley's teleport. And so Helen's first objective was to find a means to track her daughter if she jumped unexpectedly again.

"We'll find something more fashionable I promise." And with that she breathed inward sighing a relief knowing now Ashley would never be out of reach.

Not ever again.

Ashley pushed her bent knees she had curled into her chest and stretched out her legs letting a foot fall across the bed's edge. Her ankle peeked out from the blanket's threaded edge and she felt the cool rush of air touch her skin. Then as quickly as she felt the room's coolness she tucked her foot back under the warm knitted wool.

The way she felt now only brought back her glory days of hunting till the early light of dawn. Or the falling light of evening. God no other thing in life gave her such thrills, excitement and purpose.

"Just like old times," she reminded her mom with a subtle joke. "Me staying out all..."she paused to bury her mouth in her pillow quieting a long winded yawn. "You standing guard with your cell phone in your hand. Waiting on that call if and when I needed curb side service for a trip back home."

Rushing to the forefront of Helen's memories were those very nights after Ashley drove home, driving through the front gates after such long night and day time hunts. She would allow for the fading rumble of the motorcycles thrumming engine to dissipate under the stone threshold to an elevator leading beneath. After the drumming echoes disappeared inside nurtured stone walls she would make her way to Ashley's bedroom. And it was always the low lamp pouring soft light from Ashley's room into the quiet corridor that she needed to see. It was reassuring letting her heart beat normal again. The little light so unalive and abstract, but it meant all the world to her because it meant Ashley had finally come home.

Her daughter's journeys would take her into the heart of Old City and past its outer boundaries to trap rare species or lay traps to bring them in for specific studies. But when she completed her work she had always made her way home; take a hot shower and read by the light from her nightstand. Or fall asleep to its sheltered glow. The light was a beacon that gave Helen so much ease whenever she turned the corner to see it. This simple little light filled her heart with calm, and there was a loving peace to it.

A floating peace to everything now.

For years side dark wood tables lined the walls around her down this single corridor leading to Ashley's bedroom. Just a few hours ago Helen was strolling in its quiet pathway discovering its sentimental presence once again. Many of the side wall tables housed small trinkets from her incredible travels with Ashley. Most of spiritual significance from worldly cultures and painted pottery bowls adorning geometric designs of once ancient worlds. All of which Ashley had particularly placed on each table and all of which was never moved thereafter.

Helen pushed a colorful wrapped present from beside her knee then crawled closer to sit with her back against the head board. Ashley followed her lead when Helen pulled the pillow free and place it by her side. Snuggling close Ashley let her head fall back to the plush pillow and closed her eyelids when Helen wrapped an arm across her shoulder. Something lingered over the tips of Helen's finger and she looked down to see a few strands of shiny silver tinsel intertwined between them. In fact a few more stray silver bands were found misplaced and scattered about the bundle of wrapped gifts in the bed's center. It sparked an old memory like a lightning bolt strike. And with it the simple joys from the holiday season poured from her heart in a time when the small things in life didn't seem to big...

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><p>Small voices of two familiar children echoed against the old metal walls from within the clanking elevator. Helen paused to their sudden noisy exit. She leaned a shoulder into the corner wall to get a quiet glimpse at the squealing pair erupting in their usual antics. Her eyes followed the two as they exited the parting doors just beyond a single mahogany table across the corridor. With half the length of the elevator lift facing her, she held her breath when the two appeared. Henry was dressed in a green knitted sweater a little bit long in the sleeves, faded blue jeans folded at the ankles and fluffy white slippers. His short mohawk dirty blonde hair flattened by a pair of century old welding goggles owned by the great man James Watson. The aged brown leather buckled in place at the base of his head as large tinted black lenses settled against his pale forehead nearly giving the visual observation that he had two big black giant eyes present. It made him look like some odd four eyed alien bug. The odd funny visualization caused Helen to chuckle lightly to herself, fighting the urge to laugh louder with a hand pressed to her lips.<p>

Ashley skipped out giggling her high pitched enthusiasm merrily with one hand holding onto Henry's. In her white ski pants and pink turtle neck sweater she pranced into the hallway beside her friend, and brother in arms. Atop her head was a big red Christmas hat tucked neatly over two blonde side braids. Its soft cotton fabric hovering over her brow almost blocking her short sightline. The white puffy ball bounced in congruence to her stepping forward in her small blue Smurf slippers, pacing large steps to keep up with Henry's longer strides. They seemed to be in a hurry.

Well so. Maybe they had lost track of time. They sometimes do. But it was the holiday season. How could they forget?

They were late again. This was bad. The tea would get cold. And in the Magnus household, that is a big no no.

_Where could they be _was what Helen had been asking herself? It wasn't an unusual question. It was a daily one that until Ashley was to turn five and probably well beyond that; Helen would find herself asking more often than not. And Henry! He was now falling into the role of man of the house. Helping her with more labor intensive chores of habitat fixings and maintenance and playing a more influential big brother to Ashley. He was growing up. As was her little girl.

She let a short sigh slip her breaths. Oh how she wished she could bottle these days up so she could return to them in times she would give anything to see them like this again. Small. Young. Not yet independent to the world. But mostly, still in need of her care.

Funny how in years to come that would be the one thing that never changed.

"Silly," Henry laughed through parted thin lips. "We can't put garland on Sally's little Christmas tree."

"Why? It's pretty," Ashley whined in slighted disappointment. Dark green garland hung above their fireplace in their Study, along the mantle's marbled face. It, was pretty.

"The green. Looks too much like her hair."

Helen started giggling taking a step back from following them. Very rarely did she have time to innocently spy on the two of them and live in their little world of innocence and childlike wonder. And as she realized this, along with having the holidays come back around to the Sanctuary it made her feel like she did need to spend less time at work and more time with them. They needed that. She needed that.

"Oh," Ashley said. She hadn't really thought of that. But who would really. Ashley was only four. And although she could shoot styrofoam rockets from a plastic Nerf weapon and hit every target twice over in the bull's eye, garland look-a-likes could be something she could work on.

"What about, candy canes?"

Helen stepped out from her secret hallway and followed in step when Henry and Ashley disappeared around the corner. Still their little voices could be heard clear and loud.

"Nope. Then she will want to eat them. It might make her sick."

Ashley let her free hand fall to his that she was holding and tugged at his arm pulling him a little ways into her. "But she can eat them. It's candy," she hinted humorously.

"Nah, you know Sally only eats food that comes from the sea. Remember?"

Ashley groaned, a hint of displeasure showing through. She was beginning to feel left out with items to put on Mrs. Fish Lady's Christmas tree. After all it was the first time she would have one. It had been Ashley's idea. Her family had one. A very tall one sitting in Helen's Study positioned beside the side wall window overlooking Old River. Presents and a very special antique metal train rolling around on tiny crafted wooden tracks. Its circled route also accompanied by multiple train stations and little figurines of people, men in top hats and women in dresses waiting on platforms awaiting the arrival of their choo choo chugging commute.

"Blast," she fumed lightly. She wanted so much to contribute to Sally's first holiday tree.

"Hey now," came the surprised, but endearing reply as Henry pushed the rim of his goggles a bit higher off his brow. Ashley lifted her head up to him and took notice of a small red band of imprinted skin forming from the tightly fixed goggles and a scattered pattern of light freckles across his pale cheeks and nose. He smiled a mouth full of white teeth. "Use your words Ash," he reminded her kindly.

"Sorry," she said shyly.

Henry and Ashley stopped in front of the attic room door that was partly opened. In front sat a cardboard box. Its top flaps opened. They hadn't yet stored the box inside. It was quite heavy and it had been a chore just to carry it this far up.

Helen paused just ten feet from them, leaning into another wooden side table resting along the wall. She was sure they almost caught sight of her. But they didn't.

Henry's hand released from Ashley's and he knelt down beside the brown box. Both hands rummage through clanking metal and plastic things until he found what he was looking for. Ashley watched him do his older brother thing and take charge of their whatever the day's mission was between them. Henry's soft blue eyes rose in anticipation when he pulled out his wanted object. "Awesome."

"Awesome," Ashley copied with as much joy filled expression. Then she clapped her little hands together.

"Operation Rudolph is a go!" He laughed aloud like a genius master could.

"Ooh Santa is going to be very mad at us," Ashley told him feeling a bit fearful.

Henry stood to his feet and tucked the piece of fruit into his pants pocket. They had been downstairs in the kitchen doing recon for spare fruit. One box, which they borrowed, would now be missing from the Abnormal's inventory of daily nutrients. But it was for a very good reason.

"_Not sooo muuch_," he countered speaking his best British lilt. Helen giggled again. The boy could coin phrase her to the T at times.

Ashley giggled again to his pretend speakings of Momma.

Little eyes shut to a long yawn and Ashley rubbed a hand over her heavy eyelids. "I'm sleepy Henry."

And Ashley was. It was nearly their bedtime. Minutes were creeping close to 8 o'clock and with full bellies filled with their Christmas Eve dinner, but not yet of evening tea the lure of sleep was encroaching on Ashley. Even Henry too though he wouldn't admit to it. There was still so much to do tonight.

"Here, let's sit on the sofa. We might need the rest because Santa doesn't come until 12 midnight remember. That is like," he looked down at his rather large black watch latched to his left wrist, "4 hours from now."

"Ooh," Ashley smiled as she pushed the brim of her Christmas hat away from her brow. It was slowly starting to sag and had already covered over both her little ears.

"Okay," Henry offered to pick her up with arms gesturing for her to step towards him. Ashley lifted her arms up and Henry slid his arms around her and picked her up. Ashley wrapped one arm around his neck and perched her head on his shoulder. He was a strong big brother and she loved when he would carry her so. Especially piggy-back rides around the Sanctuary. Although, no one could do it better than Biggie.

"Let's sit for a minute and talk over our secret plan."

_Our secret plan? _Helen could barely contain herself. Really, she was witnessing a great feat of inventive youth. Whatever this plan was?

What on Earth _were_ they planning?

"Ready? One! Two! Threeeeeee!" Henry dropped Ashley onto a blue couch pillow with white snowflakes stitched on its center. Ashley plopped down laughing loudly as she landed sideways into the cream colored cushions. Small giggles phasing into uncontrolled squeals erupted after her body bounced up and into the back cushions. She pushed herself upright and grabbed at the pillow drawing it in to her chest hugging it close, like a teddy bear. Snuggling into the arm rest she faced him with large expressive blue eyes. Waiting.

Henry stood near the edge and lowered his goggles over his eyes, waiting for her to signal him. As she always did when jumping on furniture was a priority when Momma Magnus was nowhere in sight. With that very thought in mind he jumped up and landed comfortably against two matching pillows. He pushed them behind his head and straightened his legs out across the empty middle cushion and crossed his lanky legs at his ankles. His right foot reached out and tapped Ashley's knee. She giggled into her pillow.

"Are reindeers Abnormals," she quietly asked only exposing her hat and light blue eyes inching over the big pillow's square form.

Henry crossed his arms behind his neck and blinked hard behind dark lenses. "I suppose so."

She squealed with joyful delight. This could verify the reason they should have one. "Then why doesn't mummy have one?"

Henry really didn't know why himself. "Uh, because they are a special kind of Abnormal. Not everyone can have one."

"But Sally is special. And she lives with us," she insisted.

"More reason for us to have a reindeer," he chimed energetically and loud like a sports announcer calling a favorite football match.

"We're getting a reindeer!"

"Waahoo!" Henry laughed believing their plan successful.

"Henry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think mummy will want to fly on Rudolph?"

"Of course," Henry giggled without a trace of doubt. "She rides horses," and with that he pulled out the fruit from his large pocket and pushed it towards Ashley. The red piece of fruit rolled like a baseball over the cushion stopping at Ashley's exposed toes. She quickly grabbed it and placed it atop her pillow.

"What about Uncle Biggie," she asked hugging her pillow closer.

"He's too heavy?"

"But Rudolph helps pull Santa's sleigh. He is strong. And Santa is very fat."

Henry agreed snickering lightly. "Hey that's true. Maybe Uncle B can ride too?" It was a very logical point made by Ashley.

Ashley clapped her little palms together. "Do you think Rudolph can carry both of us?" Blue eyes blinked several times as she pictured herself flying over Old City with Henry.

Henry scratched the forehead line of soft blondish hair and fiddled with the goggle's back buckle to loosen the leather strap. "Yep. And then we can finally go to Dead Bridge and see what it looks like!"

"Yay!" The ultimate journey of youth had been revealed.

"Yeeesss!" Henry hollered. Dead Bridge was the end all and be all of coolness to them.

Helen huffed her laughter again from behind a hand across her lips. _Dead Bridge? That old bucket of rust?_

Dead Bridge was the holy grail of the city's mysteries to them. Their single belief was that the Bridge succumbed to old age and weather. That time and the elements had rotted the stone to crumble just as Helen had told them. But that's what made it so cool. It was old. And partly still standing. There was just something special about it as if was a secret fort yet to be explored. At least that's how Henry saw it. A big dump worth exploring.

Ashley shut her eyes to another long winded yawn. This time the pillow fell from her arms into her lap and she leaned further back into the arm rest as she caught the fruit before it rolled away.

"Cool dude," Ashley whispered completely engulfed with amazement.

Henry grinned and crinkled his nose. "Totally."

"Henry," she called softly in deep wonderment.

"Yep," he answered softly hearing the deep thread of curiosity lacing her tiny voice.

"How do reindeer fly?"

"I think it's the magic hay they eat."

Ashley frowned letting her chin muscle pout. "But wheeere does that come from Henry." The child was very inquisitive.

Henry tugged the curved corners of his metal goggles with his finger tips and caught her blue eyes locked to him. He gave her his best guess. "Maybe it's a spice or something they put in it?"

"If we get some can we eat it? Then we can fly around the house like Tinker Bell!" And with that small hands covered a whirl of giggling glee at the thoughts of flying around the open sublevel.

Henry laughed and this time Helen was so sure they had both heard her lose her wits.

"Then we would have to go to the North Pole to get some. We can't do that, we don't know the way because only Santa knows that Ash."

"Oh," Ashley sighed in acceptance.

"But. Remember, last but not least." Henry gave Ashley a nod worthy of a noble deed. "Your apple."

Ashley crinkled her little nose feeling proud she was his go to girl for tonight's adventure. "Are you sure Reindeers eat apples?"

"Horses do," he shrugged.

"But what if he doesn't like it and he makes a fuss?"

"He will don't worry."

"What if the reindeer are scared of us?"

"They won't be."

"How do you know," she protested in her tiny voice and pouty lips blinking her large blue eyes and waiting patiently for his answer.

"Umm," he was thinking logically. "Uh, because it they aren't scared of a big bearded Santa then they can't be scared of us."

That satisfied Ashley's curiosity.

For that question.

"Why do I have to be the one to undo Santa's reins for Rudolph?" It would be a challenging feat to free Rudolph and guide him down the stone staircase and into their elevator.

Henry wrinkled his forehead causing the metal goggles to shift unevenly and Ashley watched them move with the small muscles in his forehead. Henry flashed a grin filled with a sympathetic undercurrent. Bright blue eyes intensely focused on Ashley's hesitance and nervous face. Ashley was now biting at her lower lip and Henry immediately felt like a fool for letting her do this. But he himself could not. He was too afraid. But he couldn't tell her that. He was the big brother. Big brothers aren't afraid of anything.

Henry sat up and leaned forward to playfully pat her on her head. "You have to do it because you're like the size of an elf," he informed her. "They will think you're one of them."

"But you are oldest Fossy," Ashley said in her defense. She nearly whined the words. "Why can't you I'm scared?"

"You can't be scared," he insisted sympathetically as his blue eyes softened. "You are not scared of Uncle Biggie? And he is much bigger than a reindeer."

Ashley folded her elbows in against her stomach just like her mother's posture before speaking of important listenings. Then Ashley breathed aloud her annoyance. His explanation wasn't good enough.

"What if I don't have enough time, and Santa sees me," her eyes grew in size as did her small pupils. Bending forward closer to his face she eyed him for a truthful answer. It really frightened her. All she could think about was standing next to a giant soft furry reindeer on the snow covered roof patio, large tree branch antlers and big dark eyes staring back at her under the night sky. Would Rudolph be noisy and toss his head about like a horse causing a change reaction of fear to trickle down the row of magical creatures. Or would he be completely calm with her observing with quiet awe in her attempts in trying her best to unravel the harness contraption that held them all together. What if she couldn't unstrap the red harness buckled attached to his? What if the jingle bells strapped to them jiggled too loud? Santa might come running. That would not be good. She imagined Santa poofing back onto the snowy dark roof, his big red rosy cheeks and huge curly white beard. God. She would scream her little lungs out at the sight of a red suited, black belt buckled Santa catching her red handed planning to steal his famous lead reindeer with the famous glowing nose.

Children always at one time or another wish they could see Santa placing their own presents under the tree. But they really never thought beyond that moment if they saw him, looking at them, looking at him.

"He won't," Henry objected with a doubtless grin. "Uncle B made that giant cookie remember. Like Uncle Buck made those gigantic pancakes in that movie. It will take him like a whole hour to eat it." Then Henry laughed a rolling deep throated growl to the genius plan in the works. Keep Santa eating to give Ashley more time on the roof to bring down Rudolph. Henry would stake out Helen's study from behind her bureau then click his radio to inform her of Santa's status. Of course, he would have a cassette tape playing Christmas music so he couldn't hear him talk to Ashley.

Ashley's bright blue eyes spawned widely with remembrance. The plan? How could she forget the plan? The Big Guy had made a giant chocolate chip cookie which currently resided in Helen's study sitting across the marbled fireplace. It neatly spread out over a small wooden table with a little white note with greetings from them._ "Dear Mr. Santa Clause. Please eat all of the cookie. It is the best cookie in the world. Thank you. Henry and Ashley Magnus."_

Which reminded Helen. The Big Buy was probably still sleep in her Study sprawled out on the sofa holding a file folder in his lap, just the way she found him a few moments ago. He had fallen fast asleep waiting on her for a short Christmas Eve debrief from the evening's scheduled rounds next to a warm crackling fireside. She'd thought it best not to wake him in the quiet dark room. The children had entered obviously finding him sleeping. One thing led to another. Then another. The children had draped him head to hairy toe in blankets of shiny silver tinsel. It was spread all over his wide shoulders and large body, laying around him on the cream sofa and on the floor at his big feet. His head was slumped down along his collar bone but the tinsel strands managed to stick to him like glue. He looked like a giant Cousin It in shiny silver tassels. Helen could barely make out his nose and eyes. It didn't make things easier when atop his head sat a giant plastic bow, its two thick banded tie bands laying on either side of his face like red colored braids.

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><p>If only memories could also be like messages in a bottle. Forever captured and looked back upon from time to time...<p>

Images so vivid and sharp and full of love suddenly dissipated like a fog cloud but not its momentary rush of warming emotion. She had heard Ashley sigh to herself and it brought her back.

She missed them being so young. So little. She missed it a lot.

_"You standing guard with your cell phone in your hand. Waiting on that call if and when I needed curb side service for a trip back home."_

"Such are the joys of being a mother to you," Helen continued.

"To a wild and crazy daughter," she huffed lightly against the pull of sleep. "I still can't believe I took on the creature after our trip back from Scotland. Thinking back, I should have brought Henry. I forget how adaptive their skin is in the dark. It was like fighting the invisible man. Should have brought a thermal scanner."

Helen smiled to herself. Ever the techno savvy daughter replaying pre and post mission protocols. "But I let you go. I trusted you had your plans sorted out."

"Yeah next time we go hunting I think I'll stick with bringing Henry. Like on_ every _mission."

Helen let the moment pass in silence. Ashley going on missions again was not something her heart had settled with. Things will be different now. Soon there will be no Sanctuary. No Network. No living on the surface. She envied her early days with Ashley when the most pressing issues revolved around how many cases of ammo was needed for the month's inventory. Or how many pounds of food items were needed to feed the Abnormals living downstairs.

Helen was deeply frozen in her own thoughts. When she heard Ashley's voice speak to her she honestly couldn't recall how long she had been silently thinking.

"What's wrong Mom? You're too quiet." Ashley pressed the issue seeing that long gaze her mother was giving to the glass wall silhouetted with evening's dusk. She realized immediately the sad drawn look promising to leave a frown across her lips. Something deep in her heart was being walled up, kept behind in secrets. Whenever Helen had wanted to tell Ashley something that harbored any disappointment or worry, pausing with a lost deadpanned stare was her answer.

When she didn't flinch a muscle or even react with a blink Ashley pushed herself up closer taking a seat against the bed's wooden headboard. Pulling one knee to bend into her chest she let her head lay against the ball of her mother's shoulder. She snuggled in next to her pulling the white wool blanket back across her shoulders. She would give her time to find her words. However long it took tonight. There was time. So much time now.

It seemed like a minute had passed by. Maybe two. And in-between both set of blue eyes floated their views over the outside horizon. Buildings were slowly fading under the shadows of dark night. Every white capped rooftop succumbing to its portrait after its golden setting sun. Hovering over the pearly brick tops a purple tint darkened over Old City bringing to life two twinkling stars. Each seemed to dance over the old city and it reminded Ashley that she was wrong. They weren't even stars. It was Jupiter and Venus. Henry had told her this while lost in wanderlust looking through the tunnel vision of his powerful telescope in the fall months. A Christmas present given to him by Helen nearly ten years ago. These stars are like 'you and me' he would tell her. Two peas in a pod to a world infinite with adventure, journeys that only they were privy to in the life of giving, Sanctuary For All.

And he was right. He had never been so right.

Helen felt her stomach knot with nervous butterflies and she breathed quietly trying to hide the increase of anxious heartbeats, letting the silence slip between them. How would she tell Ashley this? The house, their Sanctuary was not just a home. It was another beating heart intertwined in theirs. Everything rooted from the start bled on these stone walls and family grounds. She hadn't even told Henry. The closest thing to flesh and blood but still holding a loving admission that she dearly called son. Was it wrong to continue to keep it from him too? From the rest of her devoted family?

_No...this is how it needs to be. For the sake of us all and our future._

Ashley's patience was expiring. But she wasn't at all mad. Just so deeply curious. Her mother was never good at keeping secrets. At least from her anyways.

"Mom," she hushed very quietly as not to startle her.

"What I am about to tell you will be unsettling?" Her words came without hesitation. As if she had rehearsed them. Her voice was different too. Ashley noticed because her tone sounded like one from a firm talking midnight lecture given to her when she arrived home bruised and cut from the depths of bagging and tagging. Understanding this on a level in which she hadn't forgotten she was her only daughter, it just meant that Helen was speaking out of fear.

_What is she afraid of?_

Helen turned her gazing eyes from the dark blue sky and pressed her cheek to the top of Ashley's head. It was a soothing gesture and with it brought another arm to wrap gently around across her shoulder.

"There is no easy way to explain this" she continued in a soft whisper. "But know that what I have chosen to do is because I love you. You're safety has always been the most important thing to me. I want you to understand that."

"Aw mom, I understand. Whatever you're about to tell me I'll be okay with it. We've come this far right?"

Helen's heart blanketed with comfort holding her daughter so close. God would she ever get used to this. Seeing her daughter alive again.

She breathed in heavily to the thought and Ashley immediately felt a heavy inhale reveal that this was definitely something important.

"In a few weeks, our home, this Sanctuary will be gone."

Neither of them parted ways though Helen was expecting her to pull away and give her the 'I don't believe this stare' which was usually only revealed on late evenings she told her she wanted her to stay in and hang up her gun for the night.

When she didn't answer a reply she continued with a heavy heart. "During my years in seclusion I invested money, spent money, meddled in financial affairs that spanned decades, all so we could have a better chance at a new life. A new beginning. In Hollow Earth."

_Okay this is not even close to what I was thinking. _Ashley pulled back straightening her posture but still found rest against the bed's head board. Blue eyes watched each other quietly though no muscles could reveal any expressive emotion between them.

Gentle words spoken with much ease snapped her focus back to the here and now.

"But in order for us to have this new start I had to make an unbelievable decision that is very much heartbreaking for us all." Helen reached hesitantly for Ashley's good hand she had cradled to her chest, then finding the strength she held tight as if an invisible current dared pull them apart. Blue eyes softened and glistened over and Ashley couldn't help but react in kind. "In a few weeks, I plan on disappearing from this life. Making it look like I sacrificed my own in the process. And the Sanctuary."

No she didn't like this one bit. "What are you saying," she questioned with an air of fear fleeting through.

Helen lowered her voice almost to an inaudible whisper, as if her words were heard too loud they would be true. But they would be. She didn't want to do it. Her Sanctuary was a world within her world that always made her feel entirely safe within its stone fortified walls. It was a part of her very soul. But the world outside was becoming tragically dangerous. And she was sick and tired of finding herself barely surviving on its frontlines.

Her mother's eyes danced over her features with sentimental loss. It was an expression rarely witnessed and Ashley's heart sank deeper in her chest seeing the emotion exposed. "Ashley. I am going to burn down the Sanctuary."

There she said it. And the reality of what she was planning had never felt so sickly real until now.

Her words spun repeatedly around in Ashley's head. She knew the Sanctuary had a self-destruct. Henry had written the program for it. She had protested. She didn't want something like that in connection with their home. But ultimately Helen convinced her they needed it. So the little program sat idle in the depths of the security programming and all but forgotten or perhaps more desensitized to its purpose as the years passed on and its truth buried deeper within suppressed denial.

"No..." It was a conditioned response for any threat that posed harm to her and her family. No. It was a word angry and defensive. She said it to counter the reason behind it more than anything. Who would make her mother want to do this?

"It is for the best." And Helen almost broke to her own words. Each syllable cradling weight from a hundred years of regretful planning. Yes it was just a house. But, it was more than just a place to live.

Tears surface like encroaching tides and settled their watery birth on the rim of Ashley's blue eyes. But they did not fall. A rush of anger hit her hard. This was her home. Her Sanctuary and she'll be damned if some crazy governments believed they could push them out. Or whoever the hell they were. "There has to be another way. Right?" Her voice deepened and she leaned back as the truthful words sunk in deeper. "This is my home too. Seriously, if anyone tries to beat down our doors we'll just pick them off one by one. Like we always do. Remember," she encouraged sincerely. "Remember when those Crypt Keepers came crawling in like ants after we saved The Morrigan. We took them down one by one."

Helen didn't let her eye contact falter for a second's time. "This is different," she promised sadly.

Ashley feared a rebellious verbal back lash but not in angst toward each other. "Hell it is. Mom," she urged in anticipated breaths. "You're caving into them. You can't let them win. We will fight this."

"This is not a competition. This is about you and me. Our life. Henry, John. Everyone. And only John knows of this. Now you."

Henry snorted heavily in his sleep then grunted what could have been a growl but he did not wake.

"But this is our home..." Ashley whispered careful not to wake Henry. But really she wanted to scream the words with as much building adrenaline she felt flowing wildly inside her veins.

Helen clenched her jaw in attempts to calm the heavy emotion. Ashley eyed her with sympathetic eyes seeing that his was so hard on her. Helen offering the warmest smile she could force, and did so as fingers pushed away soft blonde hair from around Ashley's ear.

"I am tired of fighting Ashley. I do not want to do it anymore."

Her words sunk to the very bottom of Ashley's heart.

Ashley, as much as she wanted to argue the point on behalf of family honor and whatever she could defend with, she flat out refused. Her mother had reveled in the simple presence that is time to build and hope and dream and plan, for the blessings of Sanctuary. She alone sacrificed this precious thing called time for the committed care of others and now it was time to let it go in a world they called home. Time was a watchful eye to the world of living beings that did not care of its counterparts choices nor did it interfere into paths taken by each. Helen knew this. And now Ashley did too. Helen once long ago wanted to try and personify time to something she could attribute as a breathing conscious being. It seemed easy enough after living 100 years as an Immortal because it made her one of them. If time could be a 'them'. Gods? Higher powers that be? Because time is immortal and so was she.

"You're right." Ashley breathed, already feeling the loss of the Sanctuary, its loving memories of a fighting family with purpose frozen in time within stone. "I am tired of it too."

Her confession was directed to many things and she was beginning to allow herself to think clearer to her mother's plight living in seclusion. But most pressing the life she had chosen to lead for, Sanctuary. Ashley believed she could never have done what her mother had. And that alone was another reason to respect the decision made without a battle of heartfelt wills.

Ashley shifted her body and slunk down a little ways to snuggle her head at her mom's side. Helen could feel her daughter's body trembling next to her. "You cold?"

"Yeah," she said quietly.

But Helen knew Ashley was just reacting involuntary to her new life and all of its changes. Pulling the blanket across them both she let soft threaded wool fall over her daughter and tucked over her shoulders. The very same blanket she had knitted in Vienna when she lived in her stone cottage and her four legged comrades. Ashley again curled her knees closer to her chest and reveled under the warming cover.

"Better?" Helen asked as both arms secured her daughter in an embrace.

"Much" she sighed back, surrendering her eyelids to the Sand man's sleepy spell.

For a few long moments no words were said. And in some ways it made things easier that way. Just holding her daughter again had filled her life with, life again. The love of a child. It is such a beautiful profound thing. A small piece of humanity that learns to talk, walk, and follow in your footsteps that you nurture the best you can. Helen had done the best she can. She kept telling herself this every day for over another century's time.

"Ashley," Helen whispered softly against the soft blonde hair of her daughter's forehead. But she wasn't heard. Ashley was fast asleep in her arms.

"I love you darling," she whispered with love.

Settling into the blanket's warmth Helen found herself falling to the dream realm in absolute comfort. The room was deafly quiet. Only filled with the beating hearts of family. Like a snow globe capturing a single moment in time she sat just as well to its metaphor. The white tiny Christmas lights danced as random light bulbs faded in and out in glowing brightness. Old City was disappearing into night and with it another day of Immortality was passing on.

A sound pulled her free from her deep slumber and again, she'd wondered how long it had been between her conscious thinking moments.

So Helen made no attempt to move from where she was. She was so comfortable. Relaxed without a single care in the world. Encompassed in her own body heat, twilight's blissful realm of sleep beckoned her eyes to stay close. But quiet sounds fading in and out of her dreaming mind opened a small window to her here and now.

Threaded white wool cradled the soft skin of her daughter's cheek now that her head had sunk down to her lap. Audible sounds changed in tone and volume as she drifted on the delicate bands of sleep. A passing shadow momentarily clouded away the presence of a room filled with hanging Christmas lights. She had been enjoying the soft enclosure of its glow from behind her heavy eyelids knowing the longing peace and absolute center of her world was held, and protected within it.

Then as quickly as the moving body stepped by, a jingled chime of porcelain on vintage silver promised a treat of splendid hot tea. Earl Grey of course. She could smell the aroma of its sugary and lingering spice float in the airy steam of its heat.

Soft worn leather shuffled over the hard wood lightly. Someone was trying their best to keep her undisturbed.

In her sleepy wake she opened her eyes to a tall dashing form. She offered the soul a small groggy smile and tilted her head back to the headboard. "Tea?" Helen enquired against an accented rasp. She blinked harder this time focusing away the twilight slumber blurring the edges of her vision.

John's pale cheeks flushed rosy pink and thin lips widened when the balls of his cheeks stretched with a grin. "Hello there."

"Mm," she mumbled. Helen let her blue eyes fall close, immediately feeling the returning groggy promise of sleep invading her again. It was a serene pull of peace that she really wanted to let consume her. But tea! How could she refuse the calming power source of a Brit?

"Just rest love," large hands left the cornered edge of the silver tray to finger through the black stray bangs of the woman he promises to love for all eternity. Helen reacted voluntary, cradling her face back against his loving touch. John leaned down nearer to her face and pressed a gentle kiss to her soft lips. She didn't open her eyes but the corner of her lips curled into a small smile. The kind rumbling of the man's voice fluttered each beat of her heart and all she could do was lay still to the feeling. His being was like a line of her favorite poem, always as if she was reading the words for the very first time. New. Exciting. Filled with anticipations...

"Where is Nikola?"

"Captivated by your father's Praxis device." He told her. But his voice harbored something she perceived as weary. She would call him on it later.

"The Big Guy?"

"Your manservant," John lowered his tall frame to the edge of Ashley's bed while offering Helen a very amusing grin. "He, is with Miss. Bubbles."

Helen chuckled lightly. "And who may I ask is this, Miss. Bubbles?"

"The lady of the freshwater," he stated still smiling. He did love naming things, like famous sonnet titles. There was just something romantic and aristocratic to its creative nature.

"Our Sally?"

"Yes. He informed me he would explain to her all that has occurred."

John looked down to his black boots still cloaked with the sands from the European beach he was strolling on just a few hours ago. White glittering sand appeared only from his booted heels leaving a miniscule horseshoe ringed designs atop the red grained wood. After inspecting his sandy trails he lifted his eyes to her again. "Your Mermaid connected with me when I picked her up to place her in the secondary aquarium after the Magoi attack. She was so frightened. But I could sense that she understood I was going to help you all. And that I was free."

Helen's remembered the Magoi aftermath and him saving her. "She has a very special gift."

"She is an amazing creature."

"Yes she is,' she whispered running fingers through Ashley's soft blonde hair again. Then starting again at her forehead. "It was a senseless tragedy I could not save her friend. The other died shortly after I rescued them."

John's blue eyes burned with sincere empathy. "There were two Mermaids," he asked not missing a beat.

Soft eyes lifted to meet his. "Merman," she corrected him. "Her mate."

John felt his chest sink. He could not fathom losing Helen now. After so much incredible history. And walled up love. "How dreadful."

"After her recovery from being held captive by Abnormal poachers we learned that she was originally from the Bermuda Triangle. I offered her freedom, release to her native habitat but she refused. My Sanctuary has been her home ever since."

John let out a deep sigh as if he had been holding his breath for as long as Helen was speaking.

"She has been with me since Ashley was four..." Her words slurred sleepily and John watched her head as it slowly tipped downward. Her chin became buried in her long brown hair and John leaned closer to her and pushed the dark brown curls from around her chin and mouth. Then long fingers slowly caressed the jawline of her cheek. The slightest movement of his touch opened her mind again and she breathed in a deep breath. Blue eyes lifted to his once more, then fell back down to her daughter.

She could not help it as a teary eye smile flushed her face. "My Ashley."

John let his hand reach to Ashley head and he too brushed fingers through her hair, curling strands behind her exposed ear. "Ashley is the sum of your life. She has shaped your world more than you will ever dare to know. Immortality is not just a gift of longevity; it is an eye to see the ending to every choice you make."

Helen very tenderly traced the stitching sutures lining Ashley's bruised jawline. Wishing her very touch could take away her wounds.

"She, is my Sanctuary."

No words were ever so delicately spoken.

John agreed though his time with Ashley had only been a fraction to what Helen had.

"The way you love Ashley is unmeasureable. And you will chance the world to keep her safe within it. As you have done by your very hands. I know you have had regrets. Doubting your past knowing your Sanctuaries can no longer prove safe in this world. But what is done, is done," he reminded in care, hoping to diffuse any lingering sadness from having chosen to start again a life anew in Hollow Earth.

Deep blue Immortal eyes locked together as his loving words were carried to the bottom of her heart.

"But do not believe you do not deserve this Helen. Our new life together. Ashley's new life. It is a miracle from a miracle that is, you."

Time used to haunt Helen Magnus. Filling her with dark fears at the end of nights as she secretly longed for a cure to what she sometimes referred to as an unending disease. It was London 1886 with a needle filled with uncertainties...

Sanguine Vampiris.

It used to be such a scary word.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Sorry for the long delays between each chapter... trying to update as soon as I can but it's still taking me a bit to finish these last four of five chaps. I am thinking of a sequel; something drastically different in tone to this one. A Helen/John/Ashley&Nikola S5 Adventure/Supernatural story. I have a few plot points lined up and if I can manage finishing it the way I want to I will post it. Again, it's just a passing thought that I'd really like to do. If a miracle ensues then I will only post when I completely finish every chapter.

As always I hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p>Chapter 39<p>

Metal clattered to a secure lock from a weighted iron door closing. The lonely echo bounced off hundred year old stone filtering its mechanical voice into the shadowed archway. The next accompanying sounds Nikola heard were channeling footfalls over laden stone, suspending familiar beats beneath the outside arched passageway. The instant heel clap on stone carried with it his remembrances of old London and the gallivanting walks The Five would take throughout the cobblestoned city. Every journey into the city's heart, every grouped hustle down claustrophobic cornered streets and its oil lamp lined bridges; these century long passed strolls were never too difficult to recall even now whenever leather touched down onto civilized stone.

It was turning out that no matter the age of the Vampire, no matter where he traveled in this world, old London's heartbeats were never too far.

Hours had passed, consumed by Immortal eyes focusing on that one suspended holographic screen, which in its dedicated studies had urged the man to want freedom from his confined research, if only to rest his powerful mind for a short time. Ashley's blood results had revealed a turn of events that could well impact all members of the Five. How sad only three remained to breathe life upon this Earth.

Before the Vampire had searched out the fading night hours he had peeked into Ashley's room to dote like a long respected Uncle of sorts. He had stopped short of entering the room taking a lean into the doorway. Sprawled out like a snow Angel was the Lichen in the center of the bed. Short hair disheveled and body swallowed still by that damn worn yellow sweatshirt that Nikola could barely stand to look at. But he had digressed letting a smile plague his face in place of his stylish fashion trends still upheld from the Old days of London.

John sat comfortably in the black leather chair beside the bed with eyes soft and sleepy. A closed lip press and a nod greeted him as if to say, 'thank you for everything.' Then the man sipped from a small white tea cup his was holding against the top of his knee. Nikola offered and understanding nod in return, unspoken with words because at length, none really were needed. The whole of what had transpired that night Helen had come to him for his help, the heart of everything now was wrapped up in the tired and waiting arms of her mother.

Mother and daughter curled beside each other was the most beautiful image birthed from all that was spawned from the Cabal's wrath. Nikola would never admit how much his failure had hurt him for not being able to disable Ashley. Helen was playing her very last card on him. Betting her world and leaving it into his genius hands. But it didn't work. And Helen was left to watch her daughter leave her forever at arm's length.

And it was on that fateful night Helen had returned to him. Wanting more; his Helen from the future. So he obliged her request based on both friendship and trust but most importantly because he could never had said no.

A simple nervous wave of a finger over the flash drive given to him opened up a world of calculated hopes and measured dreams. With each weighing firmly to his heart that could no longer beat the pulses of life he uploaded the Caranten device to the EM Core just before he pulled an electric coil from the basement wall. A mere moment later he was forced to spear its power source into Ashley as she stalked her way towards him in uncontrolled fury.

A cold sting of air blew against his ivory skin as snowflakes danced onto his eyelashes. Nature's soft touch reminded him he was outside standing in the snow.

The pale moon above was sinking beneath the horizon line, only lending a small dimming glow from its sinking cratered orbit. And in its place the early morning of a new era crawled its way to life beneath a cascade of tinting pink painting soft edges around the clouding wombs birthing a fluttering snowfall.

As his brief recollections sank back into his mind he peered from behind a stone column he was leaning into. Pressing his shoulder into the cold stone he halted, to watch a body walking outside and into the long gothic threshold.

It was Ashley, unaware he was tucked alongside the tall stone inset. She strolled on by quietly adorned in her favorite charcoal wool turtle neck, cream knitted scarf draped over her shoulders and dark blue jeans. Nikola eased his tall thin form out further and observed her pausing at the broken library window.

The outside light was heavily shaded, barely illuminated between the invading morning and night's fading silhouette. The waking sun was hiding high behind a sky full with muted pink clouds stretching the expansive heavens. In its thrall a deeper tone of purple clung to the heavier clouds trails scattered above the Earth's dome. Dawn's envelope spilled a descending snowfall to the pearly ground in quiet geometric drops. Filling the air in sheets of tumbling ice creations it welcomed the two Immortals to its early waking hours.

Words muttered something from the body standing beside the window's empty box. Seeing her standing there in her blue shoulders sling, strong willed yet seemingly vulnerable to him; Nikola honestly had regretted not taking the time to get to know her better on those last days before her world changed. Her fierce personality and unwavering faith to her mother and her family's work had the Vampire's full and proper respect.

Ashley will be a wild trial to engage into a friendship. Helen had been the same when they first met. She at times projected a tough exterior proving her seriousness and strong personality. But she was also very smart, humbled and kind. And he no doubt believed he and Ashley would hit it off from the start. Both Vampire and Magnus mother could be at world's end but are always both willing to find a compromise for their friendship. Ashley would be no different. He was sure of it.

She was just so much like _her. _

Clear blue eyes, sentimental in their gaze circled the last remaining scattered stained glass shards exposed on stone. A gently passing wind tossed about her blonde hair atop her shoulders and she shut her eyes shivering slightly to winter's cold hand. But it was a nice cold. A surreal raw reminder that she was alive to a world that once saw her leave it behind in a sacrifice.

Scattering snowflakes had been carried by the wind into the arched walkway to gather then bind into thin layers of frozen transparency. The tiny molecules continued to dance in beneath the canopy under the shadowy arched threshold, unraveling a picturesque scene that made Nikola coax a tight lipped smile at its winter blessing over a new life.

...A saved life.

Faded remnants of blue glass, golden yellow and aged red colors were broken free from a century old portrait melted and forged for sunlit viewing. A shame a Magoi battle had shattered the beautiful art piece. Ashley had loved these single windows. Each welded design had casted stories at bedtime that her mother would tell over and over again on thunderous rainy nights when the world outside caused her to run into her mother's bedroom. Every window pane of colored glass held a legend. A myth. A chance encounter that Helen had witnessed or The Five together, once upon a time.

Nikola watched her delicately lift a few pieces with her black gloved hand, only to caringly lay each back along the open stone window sill. After she was satisfied with returning the strays she stepped out turning left onto the icy lawn crunching her way over to a sitting bench nestled beneath a tall, snow swathed tree. Pushing up frozen branches dragging its weighted snowfall from above she ducked beneath each frozen limb sinking into her open strolling path. Snow drenched branches hung low like arms of a weeping willow and the small icicles chimed as snow clumps fell to the ground while some clung to her sweater to her touch. Reaching the lonely bench she brushed away powdered snow that had settled along the thin beams of wrought black iron. The winter ice fell away landing on the tips of her worn black leather boots. Like sparkly diamonds the ice formations covered over the leather and she kicked them free by tapping her boot against one of the iron legs.

Carefully she eased down, griping slightly through a long sigh to her still sore chest that clipped down onto that Cabal chair. Nevertheless, she let the Cabal memories burn away, replacing them with her recent loving memories of her grandfather and his time taken with her. His dedicated devotion to her, to help her still overwhelmed her heart. But what she remembered more clearly, what she held onto most was their last encounter as she turned away from him to walk down the quiet Praxis street; his footsteps losing its sounding force as his cane clanked into the distances behind her. The world she was walking away from was so big, so full of inevitable wonders she herself found it stressing to leave without knowing more. But her time there was over and she had to leave. And so the last lingering moments rushed across her mind, remembering her grandfather's final encouraging smile and his soft green eyes...

"Thank you Gregory," she breathed to the cold dawn. "I hope one day I can see my dad the way my Mom sees you."

She sighed comfortably believing her words were carried and heard by Gregory. Somewhere. Someplace that only souls can be.

A cold wind chilled the exposed surface of her face forcing her bright blue eyes to flutter shut against the invigorating icy air.

Her warm breathes floated above the folded threads of her cream scarf. She shifted further down into the bench, again breathing deeply, this time with half her face buried in the fabric which did well to block the encroaching icy breeze though the winter's fall wind was reluctant to keep a constant pace of airy flow. Eyelids stayed firmly closed as her senses absorbed the sound of a passing shipping freighter alerting a departure from a nearby port. The loud sound reverberated into the air and signaled its long bellowed horn to its presence in Old City. And, the city smelled the same as it always did this time of year.

There was that familiar freshness lingering in its wintry season, the crisp sharp cold floating within hints of strong scented spruce wood. Most likely from the small snowcapped tree cradled garden standing across from her behind the mausoleum, alongside the North Tower. She had just walked from there moments earlier in quiet thoughts when the sky was free of thick cloud cover and filled with dazzling unsheltered stars. And before she decided to return into the warm house for a steaming cup of tea she couldn't help but linger a little longer. This small side garden, painted in snow seemed to glow under the remaining hovering moon. It had been enchanting, seeing a sparkly layer of fresh snow easing its way into small lined cracks in statued marble along a gargoyle's protruding face. Its magical moonbeams presenting an illusion only Monet could paint in perfected imitation. She remembered Edward as she recounted his time here, the Abnormal that had a gift for drawing Michelangelo inspired sketches that detailed life in motion. It had been a stepping stone for Henry's acceptance of who he was, who he is and of the beautiful gift within himself.

There were just too many memories of wonder and beauty wrapped up inside walls of bordering stone.

God she missed this house already.

She inhaled deeply this time, pulling down her wool scarf only to watch her warm breath sail like whirling clouds around her face then trail off to dissolve away. She began to wonder how much time she actually had left before her mother's plan would come to fruition leaving their Sanctuary to a pile of burnt stone. Sitting alone in the swallow of countless falling snowflakes she stared beyond the center yard to the tall iron entrance gate. It sat idle in the dim morning shadows, closed to the world outside. At one time or another horse drawn carriages rolled in with diverse beings given solitude, a threatened freedom traded for safety and much needed loving care. How could something so incredible as the gift of Sanctuary be forced into extinction? And who was this SCIU believing they could control and dictate how others will live?

Ashley fumed angrily to herself taking into account that such an organization could be destroyed from the inside too. Just like the Cabal. Only this time it truly was too late. The Sanctuary had inevitably reached its fall to a revolutionary cause for good. All intentions were now threatened into surrender. And though words of surrender were exchanged between her and her mother, if need be she'd fight to keep their Sanctuary standing. And in some ways, she did wish she'd have that chance.

She looked up to the heavens with a solemn face, listening to the soft white noise sounding off from the surrounding snowfall. Like a distant waterfall the frozen ice crystals fell quietly, barely singing in its audible interlude. It was a gentle sound.

Ashley wished the whole of the world was as gentle too.

She sighed again a warm fogging breath.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was meant to raise a family here. Live within the Network of Sanctuary. She had longing hopes about this place. Her home. She often daydreamed of having a little daughter, just like her. The thoughts of all she could show her in this world and all that she could share, here, only now would always harbor tears for the could be dreams of a future. So many hopes and so many dreams unfairly interrupted by the madness of the world. How dare they take that away.

But maybe, perhaps one day, when the world forgets about the Magnus family she could return to the surface and rebuild these broken pieces of her dream. After all, she can teleport. It would be her card under her sleeve if ever she had to play it.

"If I ever learn how to control it," she reasoned quietly to herself.

And she will. Nothing comes easy like this. And who better to teach her than her father.

Her heart's optimism found truth to promised words that Gregory would have comforted with had he been sitting right beside her. Ashley took that little epiphany of thoughts and graced a small smile with eyes closed.

Dawn continued to cast its calming serenity from behind a veil of elevated pink shades, highlighting the color across each molecule held inside the clouding atmosphere. Last night a wave of freezing temperatures carried with it shifting clouds across the northern ocean. Awaiting accumulations promised an early morning snowfall to swallow Old City upon arrival.

The pale colored scarf fell away further passed her lips when she titled her head up to view the vast, seemingly endless sky. Symmetrical wonders, patterned perfect in winter's design danced down to the frozen Earth in continuous flurries. Every twisting snowflake carried invisible soft air currents spiraling the small atmospheric creations to land kindly on her rosy cold exposed skin, slowly dissipating at the moment of contact.

A long moment passed and she resituated her head sideways and observed the scattering particles of ice land down to her dark jeans and she reveled in the tiny shapes that failed to melt instantly. It was too amazing to believe that each was different in design and that not two were alike amidst the powerful creation of winter's tiny art.

"Room for two?"

"Jeezzz," Ashley spun forward off the bench, pivoting around in a foot's depth of snow. Awkwardly she palmed her waist belt for her hand gun nearly falling backwards onto the snow drenched lawn.

Just beyond the bulk of hanging branches the sight of a face revealed itself behind feathery snowdrifts on covered bark and branching needles. Ivory skin flushed embarrassingly as Nikola waved his arms in surrendered gesture. A toothy grin widened as he marched towards her. Ashley observed quietly at the tall thin man, his precise tip toes into the snowy earth and the happy expression pulsing through the broadest of smiles as he neared her. He groaned as he ducked the snow covered hanging limbs then fashioned his smile back to her pretending that the snow falling on him was not annoying him deeply. "Instincts," he muttered in congruence as a display of clumping snow fell across his raised arms again, "I like that."

"Mr. Tesla," she referred to one that was interrupting her morning meditations of sorts. She let her hand fall away from the shadowed thought of a holstered weapon then cradled her right elbow resting inside her blue shoulder sling. "You should warn a girl before creeping up on her. Especially one that hunts ghouls."

Her eyes fell down to something glowing and saw Gregory's tablet edging from the seam of his pants pocket. She wondered how much of her test results he had deciphered.

Nikola placed his palms along his chest as his last footsteps landed him to stand beside her lonely black bench. His light blue Oxford sleeves now fully covered in coin sized snow clumps. "Pardon for the intrusion, but you sitting all alone on this bench reminded me of Helen. She would stuff her nose in her Oxford literature on every bloody bench on the University's ground. Your mother was an uncontested book worm. I would purposely sneak up on her and hiss in her ear." He planted another grin to his face, exposing more teeth as he folded his arms to his chest but not before brushing away at the clinging snow. "I saw you sitting. I believed it only customary to say hello." His words trailed off slowly as he watched her facial expressions flicker warmly into a smile. Or was it a countering smirk?

Ashley spied the Vampire's calming demeanor. But nonetheless, he had called her mother an uncontested bookworm. Even the smallest account of her mother's adopted persona from his prior past with her seemed to ruff her feathers to this known stranger. So she decided to stir his ego somewhat. She shrugged nonchalantly at his innocent comment and returned an equally encouraging grin. "I thought you were taller?"

His lips parted, letting a beat of warm fog release and he was silent for a moment. Ashley saw the surprised reaction in his eyes when he tilted his head a little, smiling his challenge of wits. "And you young Magnus, should have an accent," Nikola told her while weaving his long fingers into thick dark hair dusting away the gathering snowflakes. "Helen_ is _British."

Ashley rolled the end threading of her shoulder strap through her fingertips gazing back a devious little grin. "I grew up all over the world with a lot of American influence. I lost whatever accent I had by the time I was eight. I am fluent in Sasquatch and Lizard lingo like my Mom. Still learning Nubbin. The chirping calls are tricky because I can't whistle."

"A shame, I would have fancied a teaching on how to say 'I drank your wine cellar dry,' in Nubbin." And with that the man stood with one hand on his hip, the other analyzing his perfectly trimmed finger nails.

Great, the man was a comedian too.

Ashley then tugged the front fold of her scarf and rolled her eyes sighing. "Not again," she objected trying to act more annoyed than what she really felt. Helen had told her this was a staple paid in full as a sort of currency for his assistance and genius expertise. "Dude wine is not water. It's not cheap. My mom busted me and Henry years ago for drinking one of her oldest bottles of wine. Heck, the grapes were probably harvested by Methuselah."

The Vampire chuckled lightly enjoying his encounter with her. He knew this would be one of many to come.

"Then after we downed that bottle," she continued waving a hand as she spoke, "we grabbed one more and one thing led to another and we found our way to Biggie's man cave. Drinking his secret moonshine and de-corking more bottles left us singing karaoke at 2am. We woke every resident on that floor. And it didn't help when the Big Guy was knocking on every door pretending he was maid service. Seriously, have you ever heard him trying to speak like a woman?"

Nikola only pursed another grin at the thought of the hair ball going Soprano.

"Mom almost put me on reserve on our next mission Op which was in France at our Lyon Sanctuary. Wine tastings and cheese assortments were a given after Abnormal bagging and tagging. But she caved and instead she punished me and Henry to a weekend cleaning our entrance chandelier, with a pixy's toothbrush."

Nikola eyed her through a soft passing breeze that whirled a shadowed menagerie of snowflakes around them. "Dreadful," he remarked. "The task must have been tedious?"

"Have you ever seen a pixy's toothbrush?"

"No."

"Think, _Land of the Giants_."

Nikola looked down, flicking at endless landing snowflakes from his rolled cuffed sleeve; the white frozen dots clearly contaminating over his silvery blue Oxford shirt. "Is thatShakespeare...?"

"No. It's an old TV show me and Henry would watch. Giant humans. Super tiny people..."

"Did they drink wine?"

"Don't know. How would they open a wine bottle big as a submarine?"

Arms folded across his chest once more as Nikola sighed out loud. "Had they a little Vampire he could have sliced his way through the cork."

'There were no Vampires in this show."

"A pity. They could have ruled the world and enslaved the giant humans."

"Unending belief in world domination, right," she growled curling her mouth to a teasing smirk. "My mother warned me about you. Delusional dream of power, your highest esteem held for only yourself," she counted the last two on her fingers she had pointing at him. He looked back curious, allowing a smile to plague his features again. Ashley began to think that smiling was some sort of Vampiric staple.

"What is a man without a hobby," he encouraged to an end. "Now Pray Tell, you must have questions about me," he asked cautiously like a small child. "A friend of your mother, a member of the Five? Yes?"

Ashley was content in feeling like she had the upper hand on him. She knew every detail of his last few years with her mother. But to hear it from the Vampire himself was just too priceless. "Rome, four years ago. Your Italian song and dance... spill it Fang Boy," she advised him wanting to start at the beginning of their last encounter. She was going to love this.

"That my little teleporting friend was a complete riot. I was not myself," he delivered sheepishly looking into the blooming sunrise pulling free from beyond the ground's tall stone walls.

Ashley wanted to test his cheeky retort. James was that way. Would one of his best friends be the same? "You were about to attack my Mom. Not good."

Nikola saw the telltale signs of family patronage shine deep within her clear blue eyes. "Yes well my dear. We all have moments of insanity," he raised his arms and touched palms in a praying gesture. "I was on a brink of being herded by the Cabal. I needed your mother's help and I became, a bit antsy."

She almost slipped free a laugh. The man truly looked adorable in his ramblings. "Obnoxious ass antsy," she said nodding to approve her word's truth. "Or just antsy enough to bite my Mom."

"Never," he replied not missing a conversational beat. "I am a sophisticated half breed and highly domesticated to the modern world. Nothing like the droning brutes of old, the purebreds long deceased."

"But you have to_ feed _right?" She was more than curious now for an answer. Vampires drank blood. That is how their kind survived.

Nikola turned his nose, crinkling the pale skin on its bridge line. "_That_ is a word we stopped using in 1889. Helen and Gregory adopted a new way for me to survive by spinning down pure plasma. The taste," he growled, "if one can call it that is grotesque at best. But the liquid has kept me alive and free from my blood lust ever since. "

"Good to know. Don't want to have to shoot you."

Nikola spread his cheeks wider, sprouting blue matching eyes. "I have no doubts. You have your mother's enduring spirit and aiming talents."

"Yep," she agreed sighing as she rolled her shoulder inside her blue sling. "And just remember that Skinny."

"I shall and I would be greatly honored if we can agree to a truce. Forget that little fiasco in the catacombs of Rome."

Ashley snorted a laugh listening to him challenging his past. "Alright I forgive you. Only because my Mom says you're good people. And my Mom's word _is_ good."

"Bless her," Nikola replied cheekily. "I think that just saved me from joining god knows what in your underground SHU. Or boot, sandal, glass slipper... whatever the dickens you Magnus' named that ungodly cell."

She allowed a congenial smile only to coax his enjoyable nature. "Two of Five. You're funny. I like that."

Helen must have told her that he was second to inject the purest form untainted Vampire blood. "Clever. Two of Five. Even James had not thought of that. But," his eyes fell soft momentarily, then squinted playfully, "not only am I funny, but a most marvelous scientific mind of my generation."

"I thought that was my Uncle James_,_" she boasted proudly.

Nikola had to admit to himself this was quite an entertaining session. "He was a master of the clues left and arranged in hidden patterns only he could unravel. Detective remember," he reminded her. "I magnetize, shock, and solve the mathematical issues that plague theoretical physics."

The snow began raining thick, more fluently beneath a brighter more colorful tint of pink sky along the horizon. A strong breeze tossed her blonde bangs and long hair from her shoulders and both took a fleeting glance across the white lawn blanketed by a sea of covered ice. Ashley felt her heart fall to the simple truth that this would be the last December protected behind arms of laden stone.

Then the man spoke again, taking her out of her momentary slip into sadness. "I speak of inventive ingenuity. EM fields, magnetic photons of energy and time dilation."

"You're speaking of the big gun you built to try and shut down the Cabal's connection to me," she asked sadly.

Nikola saw that her blue eyes glistened a watery sparkle in the softened light. "That is one part of it my dear. It was my best work at the time."

It surprised him when she laughed aloud, giggling. "And that design? Henry showed me that big honking gun. Looks like some 70s gigantic hair dryer gone Hasbro."

"The design," he said protectively in his genius defending, "was specific to the internal installation of delicate components."

She nodded with an accepting smile knowing that he did put every effort into its hopeful success. "You get points on effort."

"I am flattered. I think."

Ashley slid her hand into her jean's pocket and gnawed the corner of her bottom lip. "So I guess in laymen terms, I owe you one."

"No need for thankyous. Your mother did most of the planning. I merely added the remaining equations together to complete her work."

"Yeah about that," she added very softly and she listened to her words carry in the cold morning air. How could she find the right words to thank a man who helped give her a second chance at living.

Nikola returned a heartfelt sigh and stepped forward, pushing his feet through the tall snow impactions.

She had never been so close to him before and she studied his thin face, the soft freckled pink flushing his cheeks, and his hazel blue eyes so intently. His eyes harbored a century of buried stories. So full of intelligence. So mysterious and old. Her last image of him was at gun point in a draw of her golden gun. It was a temporary glimpse of extended fangs and claws left to stand unchallenged as she blurred into bright rippling scarlet.

Nikola flashed a lazy grin once again and spoke aristocratically, like a man of old days could. "Young Ashley our lives could well be short story drabbles from H.G. Wells. And I know for fact that each would have been a best seller. So let us pretend such Author's notes will simply state, in all of its presentation and scripted recognition of a forwarded prologue, _'For Helen'."_

His words almost harbored a Fatherly disposition and its attempt, willing or not pricked at Ashley's heart.

"Thank you, Mr. Tesla. For saving my life," she replied in honorable appreciation letting her good arm rise to touch to his shoulder.

She noticed him studying her face closely too. Almost as if he was looking for someone in her eyes.

He shook his head in silent awe. "My god you are your mother's daughter."

"Yes she is," spoke a soft voice.

"Mom," Ashley greeted with a smile seeing her mom walk out from beneath the stone arch nearly five yards away.

"Helen."

Helen was holding a gift in red wrapping and tied neatly in a silver string and bow. She smiled endearingly as she approached them, bending down to keep away from the hanging frozen branches her eyes fell to Nikola. He mocked a knee bend as if he was wearing a dress and leaned down into a curtsey. "My Lady of Old City."

"Cheeky monkey," she laughed walking up to stand between them both.

Nikola only smiled back as Helen shivered in a chiming 'brrrr' as she zipped up her leather jacket higher to her collar.

Ashley observed the wrapped gift tucked under her mother's arm, roughly the size of a laptop case. Helen shoved the gift into Nikola's hand and he stared down at the neatly tied sliver bow securing red paper.

"I didn't hear you get up this morning," Helen expressed closing the spaces separating them. Ashley smiled as arms confined in black leather slipped around her waist as he face was nearly swallowed by her mother's dark hair.

"Can't breathe Mom."

Helen laughed a single huff pulling back only to cup her daughter's face with her palms. "You had me worried. I checked your tracking signal and saw you were in the garden earlier."

"Oh sorry, I woke up," she confided regretfully. "Wanted to take a shower. And well," she gave Nikola a quick glance then her eyes locked back to her mother. "Kinda, teleported. Into. The. Bathroom."

Helen raised her eyebrows in surprise curling a finger around Ashley's hair to push back her blonde hair. "You did?"

"Goosebumps covered my arms and at that moment I teleported in the same position I was on the bed. Thankfully I was only like an inch above the floor."

Helen covered her mouth with her fingertips, trying not to allow her amusing relief to shine through.

"Fascinating," chimed the Vampire.

"It's alright. This is good. And you didn't have any side effects," she asked in concerned caution.

"Nope. Nothing. " Ashley spoke freely, relieved.

Helen exhaled a long warm breath into the cold. "That is wonderful darling. And you will have control of this," she promised with ease to her as if no one else was present. "After John discovered his gift it was not long before all of London was at our feet. The levity of the world at your fingertips is quite mindboggling," Helen ended happily remembering the magical moments with John as they scoured destinations in mind around England.

Ashley grinned proudly even though she still was in the early learnings of her new ability. "At least I teleported in the house," she snorted lightly.

A trio of giggles united the three Immortals under the dawning swathed sky of a new day.

"Who knew Johnny's little girl would be a red shifter?" Nikola gave Ashley a small tilt of a head nod in respect of accomplishing a teleport, even if it was not completely controlled.

Helen slid an arm around Ashley's shoulder and faced Nikola, finding him goofily smiling ear to ear. "Ashley, this is Nikola Tesla. As I am sure you know by now on a much proper introduction."

Ashley laughed loudly and adjusted her cream scarf to loosen its folds around her neck with her good hand.

"And this is Ashley. My daughter."

"Yes I took it upon myself to say _Bonjour."_

Ashley leered in the eyes of the Vampire as her mother helped pull loose the front fold of her knitted scarf from around her shoulders. "_Ciao_" she imitated in accented humor.

Nikola clapped his palms together while keeping the red gift tucked neatly under one arm. "Helen I think I'm going to like her."

"Ah," mused Helen while emotion stung at her eyes. "I hope the feeling is mutual. It took me over a century's time to take a liking to you," she ended giving her daughter a wink.

"Tisk tisk, and I knew we would be friends forever the moment at Oxford seeing you in that splendid red dress."

Helen huffed a laugh as she smiled, "I should have worn black."

"Why."

"It would have foreshadowed the many pear shaped reunions we would encounter decades later."

"Do you still have the red dress," he asked in an orderly tone.

"And what if I do."

Nikola's jaw dropped slightly, and it was Helen who recalled immediately the expression she first saw him with.

"Yes," came the answer to Nikola's silence.

"I was only remembering how well that dress of perfection went with a nice bottle of red wine. If I recall that dress you wore again in _Vienna_."

Helen blushed brightly, the red coloring quick to spread over her cheeks. "That was a long time ago Nikola."

"Yes. But one cannot forget such passionate moments between two..."

"Um, daughter of Helen Magnus right here. If you too wanna yak about days of ancient bliss leave me free of the details. I may see you both in the same room again, and _that_ is not what I want flashing through my mind."

"As you wish," Nikola expressed. "My deepest apologies."

"Yes, moving onward," Helen settled in agreement.

"Onward," chimed the grinning Vampire.

Nikola handed back the wrapped present to Helen and lifted his brow to Ashley who was staring at him, watching him, trying to understand this man of the Blood.

"Young Ashley is more powerful than Druitt I must confess. Makes ol' Johnny boy look like an amateur."

Helen squinted her eyes to the words 'more powerful' and gazed back to him in curious hesitance.

Nikola knew that caught her attention. "I have something to share from reading up on Gregory's tablet. May I?"

"Alright," Helen asked wearily knowing John mentioned they needed to talk with him.

Ashley placed the wrapped present to her lap as her eyes stayed glued to the tall Vampire and wondered how it would feel to know someone for nearly two hundred years as her mother did.

Nikola swatted away the snow lines covering the iron beams and sat down beside Helen. His lips softly parted without the strain of dire tellings. "The changes are clear as day," he began. "The Cabal manufactured a feline genetic code and transposed some sort of fluorescent properties within in. Hence the state you witnessed in the dark Cabal basement when Ashley's eyes to glowed. But I don't foresee Ashley having any threatening effects from this change."

"Are you absolutely certain about this?"

Nikola pulled the thin black device from his pants pocket unlocking the colored holographic spectrum. "Yes. Positive." His tone was soft but held a firm breath. "Looks like young Ashley will be keen to the night's follies."

"Night vision," mouthed Ashley frowning a bit.

"But you can fix this? You said that this was merely a parlor trick of sorts?"

Nikola's fingertips hovered over the sleek device and then it beeped, changing the image to zoom farther into the cellular levels. "Basic microbiology that can be undone."

"Sounds promising," she hoped in a quickened voice.

"Do you remember when we first admitted as a group that we wanted to inject the Source Blood?"

Helen felt a wave of sentimental emotion rise in her chest from a day so long ago.

"Yes. It was on our third bottle of wine," she recalled while lifting an arm to allow Ashley to snuggle along her side.

Ashley rested quietly, amazed at the historical retellings of their first beginnings but extremely anxious to any and all information pertaining to her.

"My dear, you still can recount the moment of exquisite madness."

"How could I not," she returned a smile wrapping another arm around her daughter's waist. "Nigel was nearly in tears in fear he would transform into," she looked away, trying to catch the words lingering on the edge of her memories.

Nikola cleared his throat and recalled it for her. "A winged pixy."

Both of them let their heads fall away in quiet giggles.

"Oh Helen we were on the brink of epic journeys! So young in its dawn."

Helen wondered if his brief visitation to the past was because Nikola missed their life in London. Was the sentimental value of friendship so deeply seated that the Immortal Vampire longed for those days to return?

"They truly are cherished times," she told him as she let the memory of the Source Blood's injection bleed into her thoughts; of how the burning sting permeated beneath her skin traveling its surging presence the length of her arm ever so slowly that ended like a fire flaming inside her chest.

Nikola gently reeled back into their previous thoughts concerning Ashley.

There is something else here I need to show you," he stated.

"Out with it." Helen told him frowning with deep concern flickering in her eyes.

Nikola's speech shuddered as he sucked in a single sharp breath. "Oh Helen," he told her directly with heavily burdened gaze. Helen thought for a brief moment that the Vampire was going to cry. "We have the cure for Immortality. In Ashley."


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: First off I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, Alerted, and just stopped in to read Start of Days. I am still mind boggled that I have even one single review.

This will be the last chapter. I was going to add a final showdown with ?&? vs ? but the Cabal angle has been annoying me after reading over on how antsy this story became. And I apologize for the last chapter, I think it may be completely horrid but I couldn't do much with Nikola and Ashley as they for me are so hard to write.

I am so happy that some of you found interest in this story but wish I could have written it a gazillion times better as there are so many wonderful amazing writers on this site it makes me want to toss my laptop and stories out the window! :D Your reviews and supportive PMs have kept this story alive for over a year now. Thank you for that!

I hope you all enjoy the last chapter of Start of Days and I appreciate each and every one of you for reading!

...insert a beautiful Andrew Lockington music score here...

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><p>Chapter 40<p>

_"There is something else here I need to show you," he stated in a suppressed voice so strained in emotion she barely heard him. _

"_Out with it." Helen told him frowning with a deep concern flickering in her eyes._

_Nikola's speech shuddered as he sucked in a single sharp breath. "Oh Helen," he told her directly raising his eyes to her. "We have the cure for Immortality. In Ashley."_

"Immortality you say," John directed a concentrated scan over the holographic cell spinning above the tablet's surface. Ashley eyed her father from her curled position on the couch. John's knowledge spanned two hundred years and the heavy thought just made Ashley shake her head thinking about it. Her father's attentive stare was like a child's when finding something never seen before. The tablet's projected colors rotated brightly and John waited in silence as if these colors would translate into a language he could understand. When they did not he rubbed his chin with eyes acute. "A cure? How on Earth was this created," he asked sinking back into the red leather chair.

Helen sat alongside John, leaning into the chair's arm with hands comfortably intertwined and resting in her lap. Ashley wondered how her mother found the calm that she was upholding.

"Yeah," murmured Henry a bit confused as he tapped at Ashley's foot resting in his lap. "I thought Immortality was pretty much a done deal?"

"Not so much," rasped Biggie while dropping another oak log into the flaming fireplace. "The De-vamper turned Tesla mortal again. As did the Hollow Earth power coils did for Druitt. It seems that the Source Blood does have an Achilles heel." The hairy beast spoke almost comically as if this knowledge was something he was born with. Ashley picked up on his cheerful tone, untroubled and she caught the light huffing of an internal laugh when he prodded at the fireplace again. No reveal of stress at all. The large beast was happy. Obvious overjoyed at the family reunion unfolding before him.

Henry tapped at Ashley's foot again, this time along her heel to mock the Big Guy's Achilles heel reference. The tickle of her foot prompted a flying pillow to loft softly into his face.

Quiet giggles sounded from the couch then promptly stopped when Nikola cleared his throat to return everyone's attention. The notion did as it was intended and all eyes fell back to him.

"It was the Lazarus Virus," he explained setting down his wine glass atop a small side table lining his seated red leather chair. "It was Ashley's exposure to it before the Cabal injected the Source Blood. There was a rare mutation. A chance encounter that shifted the process of what the Cabal had intended its purpose to be. It is something specific to Ashley's DNA that causes it to change. Perhaps the overlapping of a genetic code forming from two Source Blood parents. It creates a protein that invaded the Sanguine cells."

Helen offered him a wide eyed nod trying to follow his defining cause.

"Why the Sanguine cells," Helen called out firmly, clearly speaking from her doctor standpoint.

"That's the rub," Nikola smiled up at Helen with arms raised slightly shrugging the air. "The Lazarus Virus was intended to attack Abnormals, which all have a code from the origin of the species genome in their makeup. Like the Source Blood was for us it unlocked what we already had within our genetic makeup, distinct features and genetic codes relating to an ancestral Abnormality."

"Go on," she spoke cautiously.

"As we know the Lazarus Virus targeted these very Abnormal cells, infecting them causing a rabid like reaction. A rabid sickness to cause extinction in every Abnormal in the world. Now, to Ashley's predicament," he kindly pointed over to Ashley who was biting her lip obviously swept under a spell from the magnitude of his tellings. "When the Source Blood was injected it only inhibited this Lazarus virus for a short time. You see, the Lazarus Virus had already begun its embryonic mutation in Ashley. It was nearly six weeks later that the Lazarus Virus slowly began to adapt against the Source Blood, mutating in a way that invaded the Sanguine Vampiric Cells, completely destroying most while also leaving a certain percentage dormant. This leaves me with one conclusion to a brilliant but life altering idea."

Nikola stood and motioned for John to hand over the tablet. Once he reclaimed the little device he returned to sink back into his leather chair. After waving his fingers over the device to magnetically bring up another holographic image to hover over the screen, it spun a circular shape revealing a cell with a blue blinking center. He grinned again when he lifted the device to show them all in suspended animation. "Say hello to my newest little creation."

"What is that," huffed Biggie as he scratched his scalp.

"This is just a generated simulation of a small rendition of what I call the Source Blood's angry cousin or, better known as the Magnus Derivative."

"Nice," hissed Henry slack jawed and smiling over to Ashley after poking her foot again.

"This is the protein that I believe I can recreate from your Walrus man by injecting Ashley's blood samples from after John teleported her and Henry home nearly four years ago. Your toothy dead friend still has remnants of the original Lazarus Virus intact in his fleshy corpse-"

Helen cut in adding on to what he was saying, "We only have small samples of what was left. James and I burned what was left of his body."

"All I need is a sample," Nikola advised confidently. "Like with what I used to counteract the virus when I created my antidote. We need this because there is not a large quantity of the actual Cabal antidote left itself. And this little blue blinking cell," he gazed closer at the glowing uniformed circle. "This cell can be programmed to search and destroy whatever I choose. It will be new antidote for a new DNA strand that needs to be undone...and more if need be."

_If need be..._

Nikola knew Helen had loved her life. Her many lives. He often wondered if Immortality was, is, a string tied so tight around her heart that she would give anything to be mortal again. To advert the loneliness of watching everyone she ever loved fade away as you go on living without them forever.

"By adding Ashley's blood serum into the effected Walrus man tissue, it will create this mutated protein once it comes in contact with the Cabal Virus. Once it mutates it will allow me to use it as a template in which I can program the nucleus to attack the Nocturnal threads in Ashley's DNA. Once and for all take away the Cabal's fingerprints still embedded to her."

"I see," was all that Helen could speak.

"So no more glowing eye night vision?"

"Yes," Nikola affirmed to Ashley.

"But what if it doesn't work," Ashley scanned all in the room with a nervous frown.

"It will work my dear," he said confidently, strongly with the flare of aristocratic presence. "We can undo what they forced upon you. You will be as you were. I promise you this. And it can be done the same for the process that causes the Immortality. I can extract a protein to keep from replicating cells that live over one millionth times their normal lifespan. Remember I was able to create an antidote to the Lazarus Virus from taking samples from Mr. Walrus," he chimed finding the name subtly amusing, "but with your mutated rarity, I can do so much more. For that little protein is more powerful than anything I have come across."

Every heart paced wildly thumping the anxious truths in their chest. Helen could hardly absorb the potential outcome. The world in which she was apart after so many days and decades had abruptly just become, normal for her. Anything that threatened to change its pace, its routine would upset that eternal rhythm. Mortal? That was not normal to her anymore.

And Nikola, if his heart could beat with life as it once did, it could have well been pounding right out of his chest.

"Dear Lord," Helen stated not realizing she had been holding her breath. "Alright, one more thing. You said Ashley was more powerful than John. What did you mean by that?"

Nikola arched his brows and placed the tiny tablet to the end table before him. "Ashley can navigate to people through her teleports. Something John cannot do."

John took a blinking realization and leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees in thought. "A person to person travel?"

"Whoa boy," announced Ashley hesitantly clutching her pillow close into her chest. "This has all the makings of FUBAR."

A gargled laughing huff emanated from the Sasquatch as he continuously poked at the log fire to roll over the burnt embers.

"Not fubar," he dictated in a soft voice to counter her edgy fears. "Just simple physics," he said flatly.

"Simple physics? Tesla," John explained. "I beg your encouraging demeanor but the Source Blood's effects are anything but simple."

Nikola nodded back to the proud protective father. "Ashley teleports in the same way you do. She can follow a cell phone signal to an ending point and use it to guide her. Like with how the Cabal controlled her after..." he swallowed hard to the words. Then he cleared his throat in a soft cough and continued on. "Ashley can teleport blindly as well too, as you and James did in Bhalasaam when you both teleported behind the granite stone wall in search of that secret key. But Ashley," he tilted his head her way, "Ashley has the ability to acclimate her gift to a physical form so to speak."

Helen frowned while crossing her arms. "A physical form, how so?"

"Every living thing on Earth has a magnetic field accompanying it. Even things like walls, desks, and trees. Even wine bottles," he beamed very pleased with his tasteful analogy gesturing with a tap along the rim of his empty wine glass. "This variation of a magnetic field projects a frequency map of sorts that only Ashley can travel within. As if the whole of the world is graphed in bouncing waves she can only read. Now, one's emotions are the same. Beta waves bend and travel within the world's magnetic field and when Ashley hones in to a specific person as she did that time when she jumped back to the Sanctuary from Gregory's residence." Nikola pointed right to Helen," I speak of the very event when she teleported to you when you were losing your fool mind," he smiled shamelessly.

"Do not remind me," Helen admitted regretfully. "I reviewed my Sanctuary security feeds on myself. Not engaging at all," she offered an embarrassing smile.

"Hmm," he wondered what she had looked like crazed and partial to her wits. "Well you, your presence," he waved his arms and hands in a circle. "This magnetic field you generate can be followed like a path by Ashley. By teleporting the instant she fully dematerializes she jumps onto that road that overlaps the Earth's field and follows it to that very body like a 3-Dimensional gridded map."

"You're like Night Crawler from X-Men, but the girl version," squealed Henry in a wild smile. "Ash that's so cool!"

"Yay, super-duper coolness I get it," Ashley groaned reluctantly. She had to be honest with herself and admit the gift was incredible. But it was new. Strange and it scared her. Perhaps it was for the best her genetic makeup had produced a rare super cell that could change it. "But what if I don't want it? What if I want to undo _everything_?"

"That is your choice Ashley," said Helen softly with thoughtful eyes. "We have much to address and discuss in the coming weeks. One day at a time. We must all remember this," she consoled with a heartfelt smile to everyone in the room.

"I'd stay X-Men awesome if you'd ask me," giggled Henry without missing a beat. Another soft pillow was tossed to his head, swiping the side of his face. He poked at Ashley's foot again and shrugged. "Just saying."

Ashley sighed contently and snuggled her head down into the soft cushion. The whole of her world had come crashing into her again in a mere nanosecond's time. And with it a future just as amazing as the past lived by The Five. Days will come and go filled with dark memories and long nights to adversities found from her abduction. But slowly they were fading with every passing hour. Becoming less prominent and in time Ashley knew they would only be a distant whisper.

Right now Ashley found herself witnessing the beautiful foundation that was the Magnus family. Devotion and genius. Dedication and love.

"Thank you Nikola," Helen broke in gently feeling the weight of all that was discussed. "Our world has afforded many changes as of late. And each will be dealt with in time."

"Immortality can be reversed and I will leave that as my last parting words," said Nikola taking to his feet. He knew Helen was aching for every second to be spent with her daughter. And all that occupied the room knew the same. "A wine cellar below is calling my name and I shouldn't keep it waiting."

Nikola winked at Ashley, grinned wider to Helen and lastly nodded to John smirking his curled lips as wide as inhumanly possible, "I for one, plan to live forever."

It was a subtle hint that he had no plans on becoming mortal again. For Nikola Tesla that would be far too boring.

"On your way down to the cellar, please do check on Young William," John added to the leaving Vampire. "He is helping prepare the breakfast. I fear he may burn the scones."

Nikola grumbled something inaudible as he disappeared into the hallway.

"Yep," Henry said tickling at Ashley's socked feet as she pulled them up to curl into her stomach. "I think that's our cue to go help with the morning brunch." Henry placed the pillows neatly to the cushion now void of his body and then swallowed Ashley in a hug, forcing his arms to push past the pain of his Magoi battle scars. "I love you Ashley," he said and his scruff and warm breaths tickled at Ashley's neck. She wrapped her one good arm around his back and patted him softy. "Love you too Gumby. And don't forget you have four years of missions and stories to tell me. Leave no stone left unturned."

"Roger that," he ended giving a small kiss to her forehead. And before he allowed the tears rimming his eyes to flow free, he turned with a fragile smile and made his emotional exit. The world for him was just as it should be.

"Come here my dearest," chimed John pulling Helen down into his lap.

The unexpected grab for her caused her to squeal un-lady like as she slid down onto his body. But before she could right herself from her awkward slide against his body he captured her mouth firmly, pressing a heated kiss to her lips. She giggled against the passionate touch and palmed gently at the sides of his jawline. "Cheeky bugger," she breathed with lips still pressed against him.

"Yuck," Ashley groaned innocently rolling her eyes.

John bellowed a rumbled laugh that became contagious in Helen. Ashley stared at the giggling pair and groaned to the sight before her.

"If this is what I have to look forward to now and forever I'd rather be locked up in the SHU. Ah, if our new home has one," she joked lightly to herself letting her eyes pin to the ceiling.

Helen finally broke free from John's lips as she swatted at his shoulder. "A SHU no. HEEL yes."

"Oh, what...you aren't serious," Ashley laughed to herself. "We have a Heel?"

"Hollow Earth Echelon Level. Or _the_ Echelon for short," John stated proudly holding Helen close around her waist.

Ashley reached for a stray pillow near her feet and slid it beneath her head. "Hey, it does have a ring."

"A ring," John mused smiling giddily. "I like that word."

Ashley watched a tinting blush of pink creep into her mother's cheeks. "_I do_ too..."

John rumbled another laugh, this time louder that forced his head back.

Helen gestured with a wave of her hand as she slid off his legs and stood at attention at his feet. "Scoot now. We will join you all for breakfast shortly. I want to speak with Ashley for moment."

"Of course," John agreed as his large arms swooped around her once more lifting her feet off the wood floor. "I love you Helen Magnus," he whispered with warm breaths into her ear. "And will for all eternity."

"You bet your arse you will."

Ashley sheltered her face with her pillow. "Embarrassed. Embarrassed! Oh my god I'm embarrassed!" she sang out from beneath the cotton wall with a giggle that erupted into the room.

John planted a gentle kiss to her cheek then he bowed like the manners of Old London taught him, smiling as wide as ever and letting that be the last look dissipating into a whirling light of red.

"Is it over," asked Ashley still hiding her face from beneath her pillow.

The pillow lifted from her face and she looked up to find her mother giggling, face still tinged a pink flush.

"You are spared the agony, now up you go," Helen said immersed in a bright smile.

Ashley swung her legs down to the floor and Helen dropped in next to her but not before pulling free a wood storage box from beneath the center table.

"Is the same one we brought in from outside," Ashley asked observing her mother remove a single wrapped gift from inside. The parcel was rectangular adorned in a thin red paper and tied neatly with a silver string.

"Yes it is. I know we are a few weeks away from Christmas but...," her mother's voice trailed off when she placed the gift to her lap. Ashley didn't see it but her mother's hovering gaze watched her intently, her heart still reeling in belief to a daughter that was no longer a ghostly memory.

Helen aided her in untying the silver colored tie string. Ashley then plucked the shiny bow from its sticky place and broke the taped seal of a corner's edge. The box, or whatever it was, was quite heavy.

"Henry helped me with this. He spent two days forming the-"

"Mom," Ashley's voice hitched in a grateful whine. "No hints, hush hush..."

"Pardon," her mother said overwhelmed with a constant smile.

The red colored wrapping peeled back amid a flurry of cracking embers sparking in the fireplace; the warming draft lending a continuous flow of heat to shelter around them. It was Helen's favorite place to be. Her Study and she felt an overpowering sense of comfort flooding into her heart. It was like Ashley once described it; a Sanctuary within her Sanctuary. And all that lived here could agree. It was just something settling about this room. Computers, books on the shelves, pieces and trinkets of a century's life. One single room that had served as her 'cabinet war room' for tactical overviews as schematics and plans were proposed and created for countless missions. It was a place for quiet reading, work related researching, cataloguing files and late night crashes on the couch and daytime relaxing naps. It was the heart of her Sanctuary. And now that heart was no longer broken.

Crinkled paper brought Helen out from her thoughts as Ashley continued to pull at the paper. Once the thin sheet retreated over the front side it revealed a dark charcoal case with two metal latches on each end.

"Mom," Ashley sighed deeply already guessing what would be found inside. It looked so much like the one before.

"Here," Helen said assisting her daughter. She meticulously and slowly unclipped the bright shiny metal latches and then paused, waiting for Ashley to lift the remaining contents. Ashley's fingertips traveled over the charcoal finish then pushed the top casing away from its bottom counterpart.

Blue foam engulfed the small compartment and in the very center, hidden inside a foam border was a hand gun.

It was crafted identical in design to her old one lost in the war with the Cabal.

But this one was not laden Gold.

It was vibrant Silver.

Ashley brushed her fingers over the beautiful weapon as did Helen. "Henry forged the Cerellium left over from the handle of my Father's cane. Extensive high heat can weaken the element's properties but only when cured with other metals it becomes a liquid when exposed to such gases. It serves as a thick outer coating as well as the skeleton frame for the weapon."

Warm tears crawled at the corners of Ashley's blue eyes.

"You don't know how much, this means to me."

"I promised you another," Helen said wrapping an arm across her daughter's shoulder. "I hope you find it to be the perfect replacement."

Ashley placed the heavy 9mil in her lap stretching her fingers free from her arm held captive in the blue sling. With both palms holding the weapon she awed at the supreme slick finish and meticulous crafting. Henry was an incredible weapons maker and his attention to detail was humbly warranted by a worded calligraphy inscription along the shining muzzle's bottom edge. She read it aloud, _"Templum pro totus."_

"Sanctuary For All," Helen said quietly feeling every sentiment of emotions spawned from her first envisioning of The Five's Abnormal adventures. "We may not continue this path here. But Sanctuary for the lost ones, the ones in need of our help will continue. "

"For how long?" Ashley asked curiously while tracing over the inscribed words with her fingertips.

"As long as you want it to be." A long beat passed between them with only the fireplace echoing sounds of habitation. Ashley responded a minute later by leaning her head back into her mother's collar bone.

Helen tilted her head down to her daughter. "My whole life has revolved around my work. I brought you into a world, a path I chose. Immortality has afforded many lifetimes to reflect on every decision I have made; selfish and ones beyond reproach. Never giving up on you, the most vital of my being. I will respect your choice if you do not want to be a part of it anymore. I will. And I have in place a substitute for my work, other's that will take over for me and continue my efforts. Will is one of them."

"No," she told her and Helen was taken back at how passionate she refused an option to live a different life. "I love what I do. What we have done. Helping Abnormals, being there for species and giving hope and love for the indifferent. I could never walk away from that. Never."

Helen's eyes flushed warm with emotion listening to her flesh and blood reflect on her soul's journey. What did she do to deserve Ashley again?

"Alright," her lips trembled. "We will make a go of it. Together."

"I wish Gregory could have been a part of this."

Helen nodded her head slightly in quiet agreement. "Yes. I would have like that very much."

"He deserved this you know... a life with you again."

"Such are the hands of fate," Helen said sadly. "But he lived a full life. His love for the both of us will live on in us. Know that much."

Ashley stared into the large spaces of the Study and the opened doorway off to their right. So many memories of this house and they seemed to drift more frequently into her mind now knowing that these walls were going to fall. Even now in this little moment she could still imagine seeing a young mohawk haired Henry racing out into the hallway, and herself chasing just feet behind them. The Study had also been a fort. A base of child dreams and imaginations. But also a magical world of story tellings and hot chocolate affairs by a raging winter fireside. Books. Stories. So many legends narrated before bedtime. Ashley could almost swear she could hear the Lichen's giggles calling back from the days of their childhood.

"Still, it's not fair," Ashley reprimanded in frustration to the things she can't change.

Helen gave a caring hug and kissed the top of her blonde head. "Let me share a few words once spoken between me and a dear friend a very long time ago."

Ashley smiled at her term _a very long time ago_. In the world of Helen Magnus, that was a complete understatement.

"One day I was having tea with a man named Albert. We were speaking of time. How it could change had we the chance to lay stones for a different path if we could relive our days once more. It was the fall of 1933 at a street cafe across from Princeton University. He was smoking on his pipe and for a brief instant of a moment his expression sobered to our words. He looked oddly at me with this face, a face I had never seen him make before. If was as if he was trying to recognize me."

"Einstein?"

"Yes. I visited him during seclusion in a dark time when I was afraid that I may not be able to place together events to save you. I needed some sort of guidance on the simplicities of time without my true reasoning behind it being revealed. I was looking for some sort of guarantee that there was a purpose for such a thing."

_"_Why time?"

"I asked him the reason for it."

"What was his answer?"

Helen sighed inwardly and stared at the rolling flames licking the air along the oak's darkened surface. "Albert thought for a long awaited moment, puffed on his pipe as if the answer was among the simplest ever conjured. With a smile he glanced up to the cloudless blue sky and said, '_the only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen all at once'._"

Ashley tried to unravel the many interpreted understandings. "What do you think he meant by it?"

Helen breathed in, amusing herself at the bewilderment of his words. "I understood it as; if everything happened all at once there would be no beginning or an end to our lives."

"No start of day. No end of night," Ashley sighed nonchalantly gripping the blanket draped on the back of the couch to pull over her.

"Mm," Helen hummed low. She paused at Ashley's words as they lingered like an echoing poetic verse between them. A soft metal lock clinked shut when Ashley closed her weapon's case.

"Ashley, I am not afraid of time anymore," came the fragile but strong spoken words.

Ashley smiled listening to the soft comforting sounds from firelight's presence.

Helen let her memories return further back in time, so long ago on that foggy night along the Thames River in which she acquired her secret shipment order. It was a simple small box carved with circling designs made of a rare metal that would hold Ashley's embryo safely for nearly one hundred years; compacted within her own plasma and stored in a small glass vial in suspended animation. The metal was formed from Cerellium, unknown to Helen at the time but its electromagnetic properties promised to protect its inner contents from any and all radiation and high intensity heat. Such rarities were traded on the black market that had found its way from Hollow Earth.

Their first encounter with the metal had been a gift from Spring Heeled Jack. The Abnormal wanted Helen to have a trinket of sorts, something to keep her whatnots in. It was only suiting after having had the most precious and kindest care offered to him during his time at the London Sanctuary. Gregory had grown curious of the metallic box, and its whereabouts as the metal would glow dimly in full darkness. After his intensive experiments done in researching the unknown properties he and Helen had discovered a black market trader that could acquire and sell the wanted item in a much smaller styled casing. It was then introduced as a method to keep Helen's unborn child safe for as long as she needed.

Ashley's shifting weight returned Helen to the present when she lifted her head noticing a small leather bounded book sitting beside the tea tray. The dark buckskin color was aged, worn deeply with creases veining the front cover. A single red tassel split the pages in the middle and held the last viewed pages from its readings. Ashley pointed over to the book.

"Shakespeare?"

Helen followed her directed enquiry.

"Ah," Helen voiced enthusiastically.

"Not quite, just an old poetry book."

"Poetry book? Like the one you would read to me when I was little?"

Helen let a sentimental smile grace her face. "Yes, the very same one. The Family Book of Best Loved Poems."

"Oh, can you read that poem that you would tell me reminded you of dad," Ashley begged with the innocence shared in times when her mother would read the poems to her.

"The one by Robert Bridges…?"

"Mm."

"You did love that one didn't you."

"Yeah. I did," Ashley muttered sleepily.

Helen reached over and pulled the poem book from its resting spot.

The moment Helen thumbed through the pages the air of aged antique paper hovered around them pulling them, instantly into precious days only found inside the Sanctuary's stone womb. And with it Ashley felt young again. As if a breach of space time opened she felt the carefree wild spirit and curiosity of her youth collide with her here and now. The love for her big castle like house. The many corridors she would run through and roller skate down with Henry. Every wall held a flaked off piece of paint or dented hole caused from the ruckus of a blond haired tomboy and lichen builder of all things metal and wires. Youth was a world within itself that Ashley believed she could always return to and walk down its halls to relive each pastime. Here at the Sanctuary.

How could a simple thing as a house spur that much devotion? It was just stone and mortar. Wood and nails. Walls and rooms...but inside it her mother's voice had never changed. Her face had never aged. And in this moment everything seemed the same.

Helen tucked her arm around Ashley's shoulder and held the book open for her daughter to see. As she had done 20 years ago. Her daughter's warm body snuggled close, engulfed by a wool blanket and fireside promised Helen's soul that it still could not fathom the truth held within her embrace. Was she dreaming? Was this nothing more than another forged blur of foreshadowed realities spawned from an Abnormal's gift? Much like the one that showed her the world of the Palefaces.

No.

Not this time.

This is real.

Soft orange light flickered brightly as an array of embers sparked sending flashing waves across the floor and walls in the shadowed room. A great contrast to the falling snowfall adorning the Old City's structures outside. Ashley let the soothing sounds fill her being with absolute comfort and reveled in its safe haven. The Study. So many memories... Her mother had also told Ashley about her father for the first time in this room. Of course that he wasn't Jack the Ripper but a nice man that traveled the world but had died of an illness. It was an innocent story made to protect her. And one that found meaning in a lovely poem, a loving stanza held captive in Helen's heart for the love she had adored in Montague John Druitt.

A snow fall in winter and a poem for the ages Helen mused inwardly; these memories were so clear and unobstructed it seemed almost impossible that time hadn't returned them into the ether's past.

The last time she had read this poem to Ashley she was small enough to sit in her lap. With hot chocolate in small tea cups they would sip their way through poems and fairytales and for a short while escaping into the pages so filled with imaged places they would forget they were reading inside the walls of their Sanctuary. Helen would often find herself so deeply immersed she could hardly recall even turning the book's pages. And little Ashley, half the time she would drift off falling fast asleep even before Helen could reach _happily ever after. _

Helen drew back the red page divider letting the tasseled threads fall away. The pages were noticeably old and sepia tinted from the withers of time. The leather bound edges had clearly been worn by use. Helen couldn't count how many times she had read that very poem by the fireside to Ashley. Not counting the days she would read it alone on park benches in London, train stations in London, travels around the world and right here in her Sanctuary home.

With her hands she kept parted the sheets of the old parchment on the page of the poem. But truly no effort was needed. The book nearly opened to the page itself. The leather and page bindings had formed a parted envelope to the lines read more than from every other page.

The poem had reminded her of John in so many ways she told herself once more—her John and the love that they had shared and painfully lost. The last stanza had always been her favorite but now the words had new meaning—for they symbolized the start of new days with Ashley back by her side and back into her world.

_Helen had won. She had beaten the odds with the help of Nikola Tesla and it rejuvenated her soul with purpose knowing in the end, she had the last say - I save my daughter. _

Such a thought flashed back only hours ago as Ashley lay in the infirmary while Helen tried her best to believe in the unbelievable.

"Can you read it to me Mom?" Ashley asked her in a tired whisper.

"Of course love."

Helen pulled the white wool woven blanket across her daughter's shoulders and leaned closely in resting her head along her temple. Ashley rolled her fingers between the old wool knitted blanket; the one in particular that her mother had knitted while in Austria over a century ago. Another flicker of burning embers ignited a wave of bright light as the fireplace continued to roll its heated warmth into the heart of the Study. The soft lilt of her mother's accent filled the quiet room and her love for the Sanctuary and that of its harbored memories found its value as a tear slipped from her eye, traveling its sentimental trail down across her cheek. Sanctuary was not only stone fortified walls. It was family. It was love. It was everything the Magnus family was and will be for all eternity.

Ashley had slipped serenely into the realm of peaceful dreams by the time Helen had reached the last stanza of the poem. In that moment Helen slid her fingers to hold tightly to the hand of her sleeping daughter.

"I will not let thee go,

I hold thee by too many bands:

Thou sayest farewell, and lo!

I have thee by the hands,

And will not let thee go."

~THE END


End file.
